President Chen Shui-bian (
In a speech at a ceremony to introduce the Arbor Month campaign, Chen said his administration's infrastructure construction and reform programs in various fields are like "planting saplings to sustain Taiwan's development."
"We hope construction and reform will continue and bring prosperity and good fortune to our people, just as saplings grow strong and blossom," Chen said.
PHOTO: CNA
Noting that trees can symbolize the continuity of hope and the spirit of perseverance, Chen said his administration has spared no effort to boost afforestation and ecological conservation.
"We have been determined to raise the amount of land in Taiwan covered by forest to 60 percent of the island's total land area by 2008," Chen said.
To realize the goal, Chen said, the government last year designated the period from Feb. 4 to March 12 as Taiwan's Arbor Month. This year's campaign plans to establish more than 1.3 million plants and seedlings on some 600 hectares of community parkland and school campuses around the nation.
Many senior officials, including Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Chen Che-nan (
They planted saplings at the Hsinta Fishing Port, which has been transformed from a sleepy deep-sea fishing base into one of the largest recreational fishing ports in Southeast Asia. The tree-planting activity also attracted thousands of residents of southern Taiwan to participate.
Tai said that the Council of Agriculture and the nation's eight forest administration bureaus will jointly organize 27 large-scale tree-planting activities in various parts of the island over the course of Arbor Month.
The government designated the day of national founding father Dr Sun Yat-sen's passing as Arbor Day four years after his death in 1925. Today, trees are planted each March 12 in remembrance of Sun's encouragement of afforestation and his contribution to the nation.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
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
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
RSS