Nobody should tell Palau that it cannot befriend other countries, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr yesterday told an international news conference, citing pressure from Beijing for Ngerulmud to sever ties with Taipei.
Whipps and his delegation arrived in Taipei on Sunday to celebrate the launch of a Taiwan-Palau “travel corridor” this week, with more than 100 Taiwanese tourists scheduled to leave for Palau on a pilot tour on Thursday.
In addition to the significance of the “travel bubble” with Taiwan, Whipps was asked how he withstood pressure from China on Palau’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
“We are a very small country, and we believe it was important to have friends and befriend everyone. We also believe that nobody should tell us that we cannot be somebody else’s friends,” he said.
“A true friend is with you no matter what. Taiwan has always demonstrated the value of our partnership and friendship, and they have been with us through thick and thin. This pandemic is a demonstration of that partnership, where we get together and solve problems,” he said.
While an influx of Chinese tourists in Palau helped boost the local economy, Whipps said they were like a “teaser,” and the country’s tourism dropped after Beijing banned Chinese tourists from visiting the country.
“If you are in a relationship, you don’t beat your partners to make them love you. You should build the relationship on trust and benefit each other, instead of forcing others to play a political game,” Whipps said.
On March 17, Taiwan and Palau jointly announced the creation of the “travel bubble.”
The travel corridor would help put Palau on the path to economic recovery, as 42 percent of workers in Palau’s private sector have been laid off due to the loss of tourism as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whipps said.
To keep the government running, it had to borrow to cover about 40 percent of its budget, he said.
“It is crucial to keep the economy back on track. We also need to resume regular flights between the two countries so patients with cancer and heart diseases can be treated in Taiwan, instead of having to wait for monthly charter flights,” he said.
“The main reason why we are able to open the corridor to accept foreign visitors from Taiwan is that we have been vaccinated, with 50 percent of our population having received the first dose of the vaccines,” he added.
Palau remains COVID-19 free, with zero cases to date, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said, adding that Taiwan has also been recognized by the international community for its efforts in combating the virus.
“The visit this time carried great significance. They [Whipps and his delegation] are here to launch the two countries’ travel bubble and to witness this important moment. The trip also underlines Taiwan’s and Palau’s anti-epidemic achievements, as well as the close and cordial ties we share. This is a milestone and showcases our relationship amid the pandemic,” Wu said.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS