Taiwan and Haiti are expected to sign an agreement by the end of this year for the construction of a power grid in Port-au-Prince to alleviate the Caribbean nation’s energy supply problems, a high-level government official said.
It would be Taiwan’s first official development assistance (ODA) loan to a diplomatic ally, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The project, which would reportedly cost NT$4.5 billion (US$146.98 million), is one of the initiatives being discussed by a bilateral high-level task force that was established to draft new terms of cooperation in accordance with a consensus reached between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Haitian President Jovenel Moise during his visit to Taiwan in May.
The project includes the construction and renovation of substations and transmission towers, as well as the provision of maintenance training to local personnel, the official said.
“The project is to be executed in the form of an ODA, under which a Taiwanese bank would provide a commercial loan to the Haitian government and the project would be contracted to a Taiwanese construction firm,” the official said, adding that the project is expected to take at least two years to complete, based on reconnaissance trips.
Both sides are keen to finalize negotiations on the project as soon as possible, as improving Haiti’s power supply was one of Moise’s key campaign promises, the official said.
Amid China’s growing efforts to poach Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — luring four in the past two years — the official said that the government is hoping to demonstrate to the leaders of its allies that “we are as good as our word” by quickly starting work on the project.
The government has warned its allies against Beijing’s pledges of large sums of monetary aid, which it said do not always materialize.
It is considering facilitating trade through a public-private partnership model to better consolidate its relations with diplomatic allies, rather than simply encouraging local businesses to invest in the nation’s allies, the official said.
“Our existing cooperative schemes with our diplomatic allies are mostly designed to improve the well-being of their people, but we are now also seeking to strengthen our trade relations by bringing the public and private sectors together,” the official said, adding that targeted sectors might include the industrial, agricultural and infrastructure sectors.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS