To commemorate 250 years since Count Moric Benovsky touched foot on Taiwan, the Slovak Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and the Lanyang Museum are planning a special exhibition to begin in May next year.
Benovsky, a military officer and explorer who was born in present-day Vrbove, Slovakia, landed at a bay near Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) in August 1771, becoming the first European to visit the east coast.
He stayed there for 16 days, establishing a “point of contact” between the two countries, the Yilan County Government said on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of the Yilan County Government
To commemorate 250 years since the expedition, the county said that it is working with the office to hold a special exhibition at the Lanyang Museum in Toucheng Township (頭城).
The show, titled “1771: Count Benovsky in Yilan,” is to run from May 13 to Sept. 13 next year, it said.
As part of the exhibition, the office is to present a statue to mark the area where Benovsky came ashore, the county said, adding that it would likely be placed at the Nanfangao Sailing Center.
Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday took to Facebook to thank Slovakia for its donation of 10,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses.
The Eastern European nation on Thursday last week announced the donation in return for Taiwan’s donation of masks last year.
The vaccines are due to arrive in September through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which allows the European Commission to share vaccines outside of the EU.
Starting with dakujem, or “thank you” in Slovak, Tsai said that the mutual support of democracies creates a virtuous cycle.
Many Central and Eastern European nations, including Slovakia and Lithuania — which last month also announced a donation of vaccines — share with Taiwan the experience of democratization, she said.
Having undergone this transformation, these nations are now defenders of demoractic values and more deeply empathize with Taiwan’s situation, she added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that it was pleased to see ties with Slovakia continue to deepen.
Taiwan Thinktank consultant Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) said that Slovakia is very interested in Taiwan’s digital infrastructure and technology cooperation.
Slovakia is about the same size as Taiwan, but with a younger population and more advanced software development, presenting areas ripe for collaboration, Lai said.
It is also looking for nations in a similar stage of development to work with, rather than seeking exchanges with larger nations, he added.
A delegation from Slovakia is also expected to arrive in September, led by Karol Galek, second state secretary of the Slovak Ministry of Economy, the Central News Agency on Friday quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying, adding that the two nations expect to sign a mutual legal assistance agreement later this month.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
RSS