Two groups of 12 young Taiwanese agricultural ambassadors are touring Malaysia and Thailand as part of a New Southbound Policy exchange program.
Accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the two groups left Taiwan last week.
The theme of this year’s exchange is “Reciprocal, Steadfast Partners for Sustainable Agriculture,” the official Web site of the program said.
Photo: CNA
This year’s exchange is the fifth edition of the program, which began in 2017.
Since the program’s inception, a total of 114 Taiwanese agricultural entrepreneurs have visited countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and India.
On Wednesday, the delegation to Malaysia visited the small town of Sekinchan in the state of Selangor, which is famous for its paddy fields and fishing industry.
Taiwanese agricultural ambassador Chang Shu-ning (張書寧) said she was very grateful for the opportunity from MOA and MOFA to help cultivate exchanges between Taiwanese and Malaysians.
The mutual exchange of ideas offered rare learning opportunities that were beneficial for both sides, she said.
Chien said he is engaged in technical exchanges with Malaysian partners, hoping that he could help Taiwan’s fermented food industry expand in the Southeast Asian country.
Meanwhile, the delegation to Thailand visited the regional office of the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), an international research and development nonprofit headquartered in Tainan.
The local office said its mission was to increase the diversity of vegetables and promote better nutrition to the public while seeking to provide more job opportunities to women through vegetable science.
Chang Min-hsiang (張閔翔), a member of the Taiwanese delegation, said he learned about WorldVeg’s plans to improve the growth and nutritional value of vegetables in developing countries.
In addition to WorldVeg, the delegation to Thailand also visited Talaad Thai, Southeast Asia’s largest 24-hour wholesale market, to learn about market prices, deals, storage and logistics.
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
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
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