Former ambassador to Nicaragua Jaime Wu (吳進木) had not informed the government of his decision to accept Nicaraguan citizenship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, urging Wu to respond to public queries about his continued stay in the country despite the severance of diplomatic ties.
The Nicaraguan government on Dec. 9 switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The following day it announced that Wu and his wife, Liu Chun-chiao (劉春嬌), were granted Nicaraguan citizenship in recognition of their contributions to the country for more than a decade.
While Wu had officially applied for retirement before the two nations cut ties, his decision to stay in the country has sparked controversy.
Photo taken from the Web site of the Republic of China embassy in Nicaragua
Wu had since 2020 applied for retirement several times and his application was approved on Sept. 28 last year, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
However, the ministry had not been informed of his decision to receive Nicaraguan citizenship in advance, she said.
Wu had told the ministry that his wife could not travel long distances due to health issues, so the couple could not return to Taiwan for the time being, she said, adding that the ministry would not comment further on Liu’s health condition.
The ministry has contacted Wu through private channels and called on him to respond to public questions, she said.
Wu is still subject to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Ou said.
The ministry is holding interagency discussions regarding calls to amend the law to prevent a similar incident, Ou said.
As a former diplomat, Wu should have striven for the greater good of the nation, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said separately in a video on Facebook yesterday.
However, his actions, including accepting Nicaraguan citizenship and staying in the Central American country after it cut ties with Taiwan, show that he has no professional ethics at all, which should be condemned by the public, Wang said.
It is questionable whether Wu did his utmost to protect the nation’s benefits and secrets during his tenure as a diplomat, he added.
The authorities should discuss whether to freeze Wu’s pension or take legal action, Wang said, urging Wu to return to Taiwan and explain his actions to the public.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS