Following two weeks of training in Taipei, 50 “youth ambassadors” taking part in an annual Ministry of Foreign Affairs outreach program are to embark on a 12-day trip to diplomatic allies Belize and Guatemala this week.
The 50 undergraduate students selected for the International Youth Ambassadors Exchange Program are to leave for their trip to Central America tomorrow and participate in a range of activities, such as seminars, volunteer work and cultural exchanges, the ministry said.
At a send-off ceremony in Taipei on Friday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) encouraged the students to “boost awareness of Taiwan” and help “further bilateral relations” between Taiwan and the two Central American countries.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The exchanges would “deepen the bonds” between Taiwan and its two allies and “elevate the role that Taiwan plays in the international community,” Lin said.
“Everyone can be a diplomat,” he said. “I think you will represent our country with pride and dignity.”
The youth ambassadors are to stay in Belize from Wednesday to Sunday and in Guatemala from Sunday to Thursday next week, the ministry said.
Belizean Ambassador to Taiwan Candice Pitts said the program provides young people with “the experiences, the exposure and the wherewithal that [they] may need to be active participants in global affairs.”
“Since young people are our future, it is imperative that we involve them in the practice of diplomacy, so that they can learn to manage international relationships and collaborate to address and solve the problems of our world,” Pitts said.
Meanwhile, Guatemalan Ambassador to Taiwan Oscar Adolfo Padilla Lam said the students’ upcoming visit to his country would help “strengthen the deep friendship that has existed for more than 90 years between Guatemala and the Republic of China.”
Guatemala, which established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1933, remained “an ally and a staunch friend who unwaveringly supports Taiwan” and its international participation, he said.
This year’s youth ambassadors, all of whom are Taiwanese aged 18 to 35, were selected for their strong command of English or Spanish, outstanding academic performances or special talents in the arts, the ministry said.
Initiated in 2009, more than 1,800 students have been selected for the International Youth Ambassadors program, it added.
Belize and Guatemala are among the 12 countries that formally recognize Taiwan. Half of them are in Central America and the Caribbean.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS