Taiwan donated two patrol boats to Tuvalu on Tuesday as part of a cooperation plan to strengthen the Pacific island nation’s ability to patrol its waters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
The naming and handover ceremony of the vessels took place on Tuesday in Pingtung County, and was attended by Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Teo, who was also present at President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration ceremony a day before, the ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan and Tuvalu signed a contract in July last year in which Taiwan pledged to donate the two vessels to the Pacific ally, the statement showed.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ambassador to Tuvalu Andrew Lin (林東亨) handed over the two vessels to Teo, who then announced the patrol boats were named Te Kaleva and Te Akiaki, both are the name of birds native to Tuvalu and mean “perseverance” and “abundant catch” respectively.
Teo thanked Taiwan’s efforts in enhancing Tuvalu’s maritime patrol capabilities and strengthening its marine ecological conservation, the ministry statement said.
He also said that the two countries have promoted various collaborative projects based on the universal values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law, which have brought significant results.
Taiwan and Tuvalu signed an “Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Government of the Tuvalu on Coast Guard Cooperation” in September 2022 to work together on coast guard development and the prevention of maritime transnational crime.
The ministry said Taiwan would continue to expand its cooperation with Pacific allies and like-minded countries.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS