The reopening of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Guam, which had been set for this month, would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero on Monday last week said that she tested positive for the virus, but added that she only exhibited moderate symptoms and would continue to lead the fiscal and COVID-19 response teams from home.
As of yesterday afternoon, the US territory of nearly 168,000 people had reported 577 confirmed cases, with five deaths.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The Guam office is expected to reopen at the end of next month, but there is still uncertainty amid the pandemic, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The office was closed in 2017 due to budget and personnel allocation issues, while its re-establishment reflects closer Taiwan-US ties and the growing strategic importance of the Pacific region, the ministry said previously.
The ministry’s work with the US focuses on boosting bilateral cooperation — including in defense or trade — working to lift restrictions on bilateral exchanges and continuing to invite US Cabinet officials to Taiwan, Department of North American Affairs Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典) told the news conference.
Hsu made the remarks when asked to comment on a New York Times report that said the US was seeking to bolster Taiwan’s status, but without recognizing its sovereignty.
In other news, Somaliland’s representative office in Taiwan is expected to open early next month, Somaliland Representative to Taiwan Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud told the Taipei Times in a message, but added that he could not at the time reveal the office’s location.
Mohamoud arrived in Taiwan on Friday last week and is in isolation until Friday.
Taiwan’s representative office in Somaliland was opened on Monday.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
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