Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson James Chang (章計平) has been tapped to replace Tom Chou (周台竹) as ambassador to Saint Lucia amid concern over the bilateral relationship since a transition of power in the Caribbean nation.
Saint Lucia has repeatedly demanded that Taipei recall Chou after the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) regained power in November last year, accusing Chou of interfering in the electoral process in favor of the United Workers Party (UWP), an allegation that the ministry has denied.
Chou has been stationed in Saint Lucia since 2007, putting a transfer in line with rules governing rotation of positions, partially based on length of service.
A career diplomat of nearly 30 years, Chang has previously served in the UK, the US and the Philippines and has served as ministry spokesperson since 2010.
In other personnel news, the ministry appointed Department of International Organizations Director-General Lily Hsu (徐儷文) to be the nation’s representative to Denmark and Department of West Asian Affairs Director-General Lin Jinn-jong (林進忠) will become the representative to Saudi Arabia.
Hsu will be succeeded by Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵), who currently serves in the representative office in Geneva, Switzerland.
Hsueh Mei-yu (薛美瑜), a section chief at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, has been selected to serve as representative to the Czech Republic.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
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