President William Lai’s (賴清德) visit last week to Taiwan’s three Pacific allies, accompanied by stopovers in the US, focused on strengthening democratic alliances in the region, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
The week-long tour from Nov. 30 to Friday last week, organized under the theme “Prosperous Austronesia, Smart Sustainability,” included visits to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, as well as stopovers in Guam and Hawaii.
Lai’s trip was an example of Taiwan “using democratic alliances to engage with the world,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement yesterday.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Presidential Office via AFP
The trip’s itinerary linked Taiwan, in the first island chain, to its three diplomatic allies and Guam in the second island chain, and Hawaii in the third island chain, she said.
Kuo was referring to terms used to describe the “island chain strategy,” a marine containment strategy developed by the US during the Cold War that has more recently been applied to containing China.
Lai’s itinerary and his remarks during the trip focused on three main elements, the first being Taiwan’s “international visibility and importance as a country in the first island chain,” the spokeswoman said.
In a telephone call during Lai’s stopover in Guam, US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said Taiwan is at the core of the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy, Kuo said.
Lai pledged throughout the trip that Taiwan would put its full efforts into strengthening its defensive capabilities, she said.
Second, the trip showed how Taiwan is seeking to build democratic alliances, including with its South Pacific allies, the US, Japan and Australia, to jointly maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity, Kuo said.
Third, amid efforts by China and Russia to break through these “democratic island chains,” Lai’s trip also showed that the Indo-Pacific has become a “global security community,” and that “the Taiwan Strait issue is a joint challenge for global democracies,” Kuo said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS