Paraguayan president-elect Santiago Pena yesterday said in a telephone call with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) that he hoped to visit Taiwan soon.
Pena, of the ruling Colorado Party, won the presidential election on Sunday and pledged to continue strengthening ties of fraternity and cooperation with Taiwan.
Tsai spoke on the phone with Pena for about 20 minutes, the Presidential Office said in a press release.
Photo: Screen grab from President Tsai Ing-wen’s Twitter page
She congratulated Pena on his landslide victory, in which he garnered about 43 percent of the vote, and expressed hope that ties with Paraguay would be further expanded and deepened, the office said.
She thanked Pena for repeatedly voicing support for Taiwan and pledging to cement ties with the nation, it said.
There was concern that Taiwan’s relationship with Paraguay was under threat prior to the election, as Pena’s main rival, Efrain Alegre, had said that, if elected, he would cut diplomatic ties with Taipei and recognize Beijing.
Close cooperation between Taiwan and Paraguay has brought great outcomes since Mario Abdo Benitez took office as Paraguayan president in 2018, Tsai said.
Based on their close ties and a solid foundation for cooperation, the two nations would seek more bilateral programs in agricultural technology, public healthcare, education and electric transportation, she said.
When Abdo Benitez visited Taiwan last month, Tsai accompanied him to visit the RAC Electric Vehicle factory at the Port of Taichung, where they met several Paraguayan students who have taken up key positions in the company after graduating from universities in Taiwan, she said, adding that hopefully Taipei and Asuncion would arrange more talent exchanges and training programs.
Pena thanked Tsai for her congratulatory message, saying that he had met her when she last visited the country.
He visited Taiwan 22 years ago to attend workshops and hoped to see Tsai again soon, Pena said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui (俞大?), National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) also participated in the call, the office said.
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