President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday welcomed Saint Lucia’s new ambassador to Taiwan, as Robert Kennedy Lewis presented his credentials to her.
At the ceremony, Tsai said that Lewis’ extensive political experience, including serving as Saint Lucia’s minister of education, would serve him well in the post.
“He can help deepen relations between the two countries,” Tsai said, adding that Lewis, who has visited Taiwan several times, is an “old friend.”
Photo: CNA
Taiwan and Saint Lucia have closely cooperated over the years in such areas as agriculture and education, Tsai said, adding that her visit to the Caribbean nation in 2019 helped to bolster ties between them.
Tsai asked the ambassador to convey her greetings to acting Saint Lucian Governor-General Errol Charles and Saint Lucian Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre.
Lewis said that he was extremely honored to serve as Saint Lucian ambassador to Taiwan.
The two countries are island nations known for their friendliness and hospitality, he said, adding that they have a shared respect for such common values as rule of law, democracy, freedom, equality and peace.
Lewis thanked Taiwan for providing assistance to Saint Lucia over the past 20 years, especially in the areas of agriculture, education, public health, business and corporate services.
More than 120 Saint Lucian students are studying in Taiwan, he said, adding that he hopes Taiwan continues to provide learning opportunities for his country’s doctors, young scholars, students and other professionals.
Taiwan first established diplomatic relations with Saint Lucia in 1984, although ties were severed from 1997 to 2007.
Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that Taiwan is not sending an official delegation to next week’s inauguration ceremony of South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but would instead send representatives from Taiwan’s office in Seoul.
Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that the government wanted to send a delegation led by the legislative speaker to Tuesday’s ceremony, which is to take place in the plaza in front of the National Assembly in Seoul.
As COVID-19 outbreaks in Taiwan and South Korea would require delegation members to quarantine for seven days upon returning, Taipei decided against the idea after consulting with lawmakers, Ou said.
The Taipei Mission in Korea would instead send officials to the ceremony, she said.
Former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) led a delegation to the 2013 inauguration of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye.
When South Korean President Moon Jae-In’s inauguration was held in May 2017, no overseas guests were invited, as he assumed office the day after the election.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to