Students from six African countries will meet their Taiwanese counterparts in friendly soccer games in Taipei on Saturday to celebrate May 25 “Africa Day” and the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The friendly meet is one of a series of events the ministry is organizing to celebrate “Africa Week,” which has added importance this year because it is the 50th anniversary of independence for many African countries, said Samuel Chen (陳士良), director of the ministry's Department of African Affairs.
The friendlies will be held at National Taiwan University and will open with a match between ministry officials and a team consisting of officials from various African embassies and representative offices in Taiwan. Later, teams of students from Burkina Faso, Gambia, Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe — Taiwan's four diplomatic allies in Africa — and a mixed team of South African and Nigerian students will play local university teams, Chen said.
Chen said that South Africa has introduced a special 90-day “event visa” for those holding tickets to the 2010 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in South Africa from June 11 to July 11. Fans traveling to South Africa for the games will be able to enjoy expedited customs clearance and the special visa is free of charge.
He reminded people planning to watch matches in South Africa about the changeable weather conditions and the flu pandemic, saying that the ministry's offices in Cape Town is ready to help any nationals who encounter problems while traveling to the tournament.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS