The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday denied a blog report that it has paid US$1.7 million for a national celebration in Swaziland this month, saying it only funded a fireworks show.
An article on the Swazi Media Commentary blog on Wednesday last week said Taipei has donated US$1.7 million for celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Swaziland’s independence from the UK and its establishment of diplomatic ties with Taiwan, as well as the 50th birthday of King Mswati III.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is to leave for a five-day state visit to Swaziland on Tuesday, is the only head of state to have publicly accepted an invitation to the event on Thursday next week, the blog said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) about the allegations during a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
“This [the report] is incorrect and absolutely false. We provided only a small amount of money for a fireworks show at the celebration,” Wu said, without disclosing the actual amount except to say it was less than the figure mentioned in the blog.
Some Taiwanese businesses have also donated educational equipment to the African nation, but the donations were not related to the celebrations, Wu said.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) asked why the ministry did not arrange for Tsai to make a transit stop in a third country on her way to or from Swaziland.
“Former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) made transit stops in non-diplomatic allies during their state visits to Africa, except for Chen’s 2002 trip, due to Chinese pressure,” Lo said.
China was not a factor behind the lack of transit stops, because Swaziland can be reached without stopping, the minister said.
However, Lo said he was disappointed by the ministry’s unwillingness to “even try” for a transit stop.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS