President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Sunday said in Swaziland, the final stop of his 12-day trip to Africa, that his three-nation visit had helped him gain a deeper understanding of the country’s diplomatic allies.
“It’s been a worthwhile trip,” Ma said, adding that Taiwan had forged strong friendships with its diplomatic allies during the trip.
Ma also talked about his administration’s promotion of “flexible diplomacy” since he took office in 2008, saying that a diplomatic truce with China has won international recognition.
Photo: CNA
On the economic front, Taiwan should “conditionally provide assistance” to its diplomatic allies in Africa because their economies are still developing and need foreign aid, Ma said.
“We should try to make others feel we are an international asset rather than a liability” by contributing to international assistance programs in accordance with the norms set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,” Ma said.
Taiwan has donated 300 notebook computers worth US$300,000 to the southeast African kingdom, Ambassador to Swaziland Peter Tsai (蔡明耀) announced on Sunday.
It has also donated 1.6 million euros (US$2.1 million) to Burkina Faso to help it address problems caused by the influx of 40,000 refugees from Mali and US$3 million to The Gambia to help deal with a food crisis.
After taking part in a -penalty-kick soccer shootout in The Gambia with Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Saturday, Ma had another sports challenge with Swazi King Mswati III, Africa’s sole remaining absolute monarch, after arriving there on Sunday, in which Ma and the king both did 20 pushups and 20 sit-ups.
The president’s visit was meant to solidify diplomatic ties, deepen understanding and review joint projects in medicine, agriculture, vocational education and infrastructure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Ma is scheduled to return to Taiwan tomorrow.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS