Taiwan has set up a “war room” to watch the live stream of next week’s COP29 climate summit, because it is not allowed to attend for political reasons, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said.
Taiwan is excluded from almost all international bodies due to objections from China.
“We cannot join the negotiations, which I think is a pity for us,” said Peng, a meteorologist by training who had attended 11 previous COP summits before he entered the government in May.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Given that Taiwan is a major producer of semiconductors with its own climate worries, it is a shame that no senior Taiwanese officials could go to the climate summit in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, he said.
“I am not allowed to join because of political reasons, despite Taiwan being a good friend of global society. I will not bother them because I want to join,” Peng added.
There would be some lower-level officials and think tank academics from Taiwan in attendance, but otherwise the ministry would be watching the summit from a conference room set up for this purpose, he said.
“We will have a war room here,” Peng said. “From noon to night we will have people watching all of it.”
Taiwan aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. President William Lai (賴清德) has set up a climate change response committee to map out the government’s plans.
With the world warming, Taiwan can expect stronger, more damaging typhoons. Alternatively, typhoons might skip the nation totally, which would be equally bad given Taiwan’s reliance on storms to fill up its reservoirs, Peng said.
In 2021, Taiwan faced its most serious water shortage since modern records began after no typhoons hit the previous year.
“Taiwan both loves and hates typhoons,” the minister said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS