Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes yesterday visited Kaohsiung Harbor for a first-hand look at an ongoing project to revitalize the area and learn more about the history of the southern port city.
Accompanied by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Cartes first stopped at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, which is next to the harbor.
While the two presidents viewed the harbor, Tsai introduced her Paraguayan counterpart to the development of the port.
Photo: Ko You-hau, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) gave a speech to welcome the guests, lauding the long-standing ties between Taiwan and Paraguay.
Built during the Japanese colonial era, Kaohsiung Harbor played a focal role in the development of the nation’s heavy industry in the 1970s and 1980s, Chen said.
The harbor is undergoing an industrial transformation and is seeking to integrate with the technology and tourism industries, she said.
Giving a briefing on the city’s latest revitalization project, the “New Bay Area,” Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Shih Che (史哲) said the project covers 600 hectares and is aimed at further developing the exhibition and yacht industries.
After the briefings, Cartes and Tsai boarded a yacht to tour the harbor, accompanied by Chen.
Cartes was on his third visit to Taiwan since assuming the presidency in 2013.
He arrived on Tuesday for a three-day state visit to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
He attended several events, including a painting exhibition, to mark the occasion, and to promote bilateral trade and economic exchanges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
During talks between the two presidents on Wednesday, Tsai announced new rules allowing visa-free entry for Paraguayan citizens to Taiwan, while Cartes said his country would continue to help Taiwan take part in international organizations and activities.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of an economic cooperation agreement and the exemption of double verification of official papers.
Taiwan and Paraguay established official ties on July 12, 1957. Paraguay is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America.
Cartes’ visit comes after Panama cut formal ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China on June 13, leaving Taipei with 20 diplomatic allies.
Panama was the second country to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing since Tsai took office in May last year. Sao Tome and Principe was the first.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
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,
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
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