Wang Shyi-chin, chairman of Taipei-based Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association’s ROC-Australia Business Council, front row, left, and Australia-Taiwan Business Council chairman John Toigo, front row, right, sign a joint statement in support of Taiwan’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) during the 37th Joint Conference of the Australia-Taiwan and ROC-Australia Business Councils in Gold Coast, Australia, yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia
Five countries have in the past few months canceled preferential visa treatment for Taiwan passport holders due to pressure from China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. It was responding to a report by the National Audit Office that the number of countries offering preferential visa treatment to holders of Taiwan passports had dropped from 171 at the end of last year to 166 in April. In its Central Government Budget Audit Report, the National Audit Office also said that the ministry had failed to provide timely updates on the visa changes, which could affect Taiwan passport holders’ overseas travel. In response
More Taiwanese spectators at the Paris Olympics have reported having signs and banners confiscated by security staff or snatched by Chinese fans. Sandy Hsueh (薛雅俶), president of the Taiwanese Association in France, said that three security personnel confiscated a blank piece of cardboard from her at Sunday’s men’s doubles badminton final, in which Taiwan’s Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) defeated China’s Liang Weikeng (梁偉鏗) and Wang Chang (王昶) to win their second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event. A staff member told her they had “received an instruction from the Olympic Games saying that anything related to Taiwan or
YEARS OF SERVICE: Doris Brougham’s program and magazines supplemented classroom material of three generations of English-language learners in Taiwan Celebrated English-language educator Doris Brougham, also known locally as Peng Meng-hui (彭蒙惠), died on Tuesday evening. She was 98. Brougham was the creator of Studio Classroom (空中英語教室) — a popular English-language radio program which first aired in 1962 — and the magazine Let’s Talk in English (大家說英語). Her work had benefited three generations of English-language learners in Taiwan. Brougham in 2022 received the Order of Brilliant Star for her contribution to Taiwanese society. She was among the first foreigners to obtain permanent legal residency in Taiwan and became a citizen in May last year. Born 1926 to a Christian family in Seattle, Brougham
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) yesterday defended her comments lauding the victory of Taiwan’s badminton duo at the Paris Olympics as “the pride of Chinese people.” Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) on Sunday won the first gold medal for Taiwan in the men’s doubles at this year’s Olympics. Lee and Wang’s gold medal win is the “Pride of Chinese people,” Weng wrote on China’s WeChat social media app. In response to media queries yesterday, she said: “We are Chinese... No matter who wins, Team Taiwan or the team from mainland China, it is still the pride of all