Taipei and Belmopan, the Belizean capital, yesterday became sister cities to boost cooperation on culture, trade, environmental issues and tourism.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Belmopan Mayor Khalid Belisle signed an agreement in Taipei to formalize the link.
Forming a sister-city tie with Taipei represents an important milestone in the process of deepening the friendship between Taiwan and Belize, one of the nation’s 17 diplomatic allies, Belisle said.
Photo: CNA
During his four years as mayor, he visited many nations and discovered that many cities encounter similar problems, the 38-year-old mayor said.
He realized that Belmopan can learn from other cities, as each have their own strengths, Belisle said, citing Taipei’s excellent public transportation system as something worth learning from.
Ko praised Belize as a small and beautiful country rich in biodiversity, and home to the largest barrier reef systems in the Western Hemisphere along with rainforests and Mayan ruins.
The Belizean embassy participated in the Taipei Lantern Festival for the first time in February with lanterns depicting the Great Blue Hole, a giant marine sinkhole off the coast of Belize, Ko said, adding that the lanterns were well-received.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and the Central American nation.
With a population more than 20,000, Belmopan is the fastest-growing population center in Belize, according to the city’s Web site.
Taipei has formed sister-city ties with 49 cities since establishing the first such tie with Houston, Texas, in 1961, the Taipei City Government said.
Since Ko took office in 2014, Taipei has formed sister-city ties with Wellington; Castries, St Lucia; Quito and Belmopan.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS