The health minister for the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, visited Taiwan last week to discuss cooperation on health with his Taiwanese counterparts — including Department of Health (DOH) Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達).
Contact between Taiwanese officials and Tibetan representatives is always a sensitive matter given Beijing’s hardline position on Tibet and government-to-government contacts by Taiwanese officials.
The visit also occurred amid efforts by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration to improve relations with Beijing.
According to the Tibetan Central Administration (TCA) Web site, Tibetan Health Kalon (minister) Tsering Wangchuk visited Taiwan last week and met top officials at the department, the Bureau of International Cooperation and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as well as hospitals, to garner support for assistance in the healthcare system for the exiled Tibetan community.
Tsering discussed the healthcare system during his meeting with Chiu and International Cooperation Office Director Hsu Min-huei (許明暉) at the DOH building on Wednesday last week, the TCA Web site reported, with pictures showing a group photograph of Tsering and Chiu, and one in which only the pair is seen shaking hands.
Former minister of health Lee Ming-liang (李明亮) was also present at the meeting.
In light of Taiwan’s advancements in public healthcare, Tsering called for support and cooperation from Taiwan in various health education and training programs for the Tibetan community.
Future cooperation on short and long-term exchanges and training for students was also discussed, the TCA said.
At the CDC, Tsering was briefed on the prevention and control of hepatitis B in Taiwan and exchanged views on treatment, public education and control of hepatitis B and C.
Tsering is also reported to have visited Taipei City Hospital and the Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center, as well as meeting Hualien County Health Bureau officials.
Approached for comment on how the visit came about, Hsu told the Taipei Times yesterday that he did not know whether this was the first time the department had interacted with Tibetan officials, as the department has constant interactions with international academics.
He said such interactions were a means to exchange professional experiences and had nothing to do with politics.
Hsu said the government had not heard any complaint from Beijing over the visit, adding that Tsering visited the department as an academic, which meant that the meeting was not an official meeting between governments.
Moreover, Tsering was not officially invited to Taiwan by the department, but by a civic group of which Lee is a member, Hsu said.
He added that Lee had taken Tsering to the department to have a short conversation with officials on Wednesday last week.
Hsu, as the representative who was charged with greeting the guest at the department, said Tsering’s meeting with Chiu was not on the minister’s schedule that day.
In a version of events that appears to contradict claims by the TCA that the ministers engaged in talks on assistance and cooperation on health matters, Hsu said that Chiu’s intention was only to go meet Lee, as he had heard that the former minister was in the building.
Tsering happened to be in the room and Chiu greeted him there, Hsu said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by