Outgoing Slovak Representative to Taiwan Martin Podstavek was on Tuesday awarded a state honor in recognition of his efforts to bolster bilateral relations during his five-year tenure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In a ceremony at the ministry’s Taipei headquarters, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) presented the Grand Medal of Diplomacy to Podstavek, head of the Slovak Economic and Cultural Office Taipei, which represents Slovakian interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Since assuming office in 2017, Podstavek has played a significant role in furthering the relationship between Taiwan and Slovakia in a range of areas, Tseng said during the ceremony.
Photo: CNA
The two countries have since 2017 become close partners sharing democratic values, and are, hand-in-hand, facing the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tseng added.
Over the past few years, relations between Taiwan and Slovakia have reached new heights, following Bratislava’s donation of 160,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan last year, and the visits of Slovak State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy Karol Galek and Slovak National Council Deputy Speaker Milan Laurencik to Taiwan, he said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in October last year visited Slovakia, where he delivered a public address, he said.
Tseng highlighted the joint efforts of Podstavek and his wife, Chen Liang Podstavek (梁晨), in promoting language and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Slovakia.
He said the envoy has laid a solid foundation for mutually beneficial relations between the two sides.
Podstavek called Taiwan a beacon of democracy, saying that despite the great geographical distance between the two nations, both have undergone similar processes of democratization.
Taiwan is a trustworthy friend of Slovakia, and Taipei and Bratislava have helped each other during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
He also thanked Taiwan for donating US$2.5 million to Slovakia to help Ukrainian refugees in his country.
A number of bilateral economic and judicial agreements, and memorandums of understanding were signed during his tenure, Podstavake said.
Podstavek said he is leaving with fond memories of Taiwan.
Ceremonies for outgoing ambassadors and foreign representatives are usually hosted by the nation’s foreign minister, but Wu was unable to attend the event as he is quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday last week.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS