Mandarin Airlines resumes Taipei-Matsu flights after a 24-year hiatus

2023-03-26

After 24 years, Mandarin Airlines has resumed its flights to Matsu Nangan Airport. Now both Mandarin and UNI Air have services to the outlying island. Local residents are happy about the added option, but some say that no matter how many flights are added, travel agencies will always snatch up all the available seats, leaving them with nothing. Let’s hear what the transportation minister had to say.

Wang Kwo-tsai
Transport minister
At present, it might be like that at the beginning. The flight is now once a day, but with the increase of passengers, the service will be increased. As for reserving seats for individual travelers, they will do that, too.

The minister also pointed out another benefit. With the partial reinstatement of the so-called Mini Three Links, which allows direct transport between the offshore islands of Kinmen, Matsu, and Mainland China, some Chinese nationals will be able to visit Taiwan by taking the flights from Matsu to Taipei, giving the local tourism industry a boost.

松機飛馬祖南竿華信睽違24年再度開航

2023-03-26

華信航空睽違24年，週日正式開航馬祖南竿，打破立榮獨佔市場。馬祖增加班機，在地居民十分樂見，希望可以解決旅遊旺季一票難求的現象，但也有民眾抱怨，不論開再多班機，旅行社都會包下一堆機位，導致他們沒票可買。來聽聽交通部長王國材怎麼說。

[[交通部長王國材]]
“目前應該一開始是這樣，那它現在是每天一班，會隨著旅客的增加，會一直增加服務的能量。保留個人的部分，他們也會來進行。”

25日起小三通開放中轉，王國材表示，中客中轉之後，可搭乘華信或立榮航班到台灣觀光，這對於整個馬祖的觀光將有正面的影響。

Minister Joseph Wu lambastes China for ‘flashy promises’ and cuts ties with Honduras

Foreign minister Joseph Wu announced on Sunday that Taiwan’s diplomatic relations with Honduras have ended. Wu accused Beijing of making flashy promises that it doesn’t keep. He also made assurances that ties with another of Taiwan’s ally were solid. With the severing of Taiwan-Honduras ties, Taipei now has 13 diplomatic allies remaining.

Marching into the room with a determined gait, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu called a press conference Sunday morning to personally share the news that Taiwan has cut ties with Honduras.

Joseph Wu
Foreign minister
After failed talks, we have decided that in the interest of national sovereignty and dignity, to immediately terminate diplomatic relations with Honduras. We already recalled our ambassador to Honduras a few days ago. Now that the Honduras foreign minister has already arrived in Beijing, we decided to make this announcement today.

The Honduras foreign ministry also tweeted Sunday that Honduras was cutting ties with Taiwan. The tweet said that Honduras acknowledges that there is only one China, and that the People’s Republic of China is the only legal representative of that China.

Honduras had previously raised the issue of switching ties in 2021, and discussed the issue with Beijing while presenting demands to Taipei. Honduras had requested US$45 million to build a new hospital, another US$300 million for the construction of a dam, and assistance settling the country’s US$2 billion external debt. This year Honduras grew bolder, raising its demands to US$90 million for the hospital, and to US$350 million for the dam. Added to the cost of settling the debt, that would have brought the total cost for Taipei up to nearly US$2.45 billion.

Joseph Wu
Foreign minister
Our model for assistance to other countries, which is a model that Taiwan is proud of, is one that is based on planning. Our way of doing things is not like that of China, throwing money about and letting countries fall into a debt trap. The foreign ministry calls on countries everywhere to recognize that China says one thing and does another.

Wu criticized China’s flashy promises, which some interpreted as a message to another ally country, Paraguay.

Joseph Wu
Foreign minister
Some good friends have come to tell us that China does not deliver on its promises. Our relationship with Paraguay will not face any problems.

Lured away by Beijing’s financial promises, nine former allies have cut ties during Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency. Now there are 13 allies remaining.

2023-03-26

President Tsai says Taiwan won’t engage in dollar diplomacy competition with Beijing

2023-03-26

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Embassy in Taiwan opens reading room

One of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has had 42 years of steadfast diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It culminated with the opening of an embassy in Taipei in 2019. Over the past few years, the embassy has worked hard to further the ties between the two countries, particularly in education. Toward that goal, it opened a reading room in February. Our reporter Stephany Yang sat down with Ambassador Andrea Bowman for an exclusive interview.

Giving FTV an exclusive tour of the embassy, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ first-ever Ambassador to Taiwan Andrea Bowman proudly showcases the embassy’s new reading room.

The reading room is home to 52 books by authors from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. There are genres ranging from poetry, non-fiction, novels, and more. Topics range from women’s empowerment to St. Vincent and the Grenadines tourism and culture. There are also university theses written by St. Vincent and the Grenadines students who have studied in Taiwan over the years. It is open to the public to visit.

Andrea Bowman
St. Vincent and the Grenadines ambassador
What we are focusing on now is allowing more and more people to be aware of the reading room and how the reading room can serve the purpose that we intend. We are going to get readers. Taiwanese readers from different levels into the reading room. I am going to share and read with them at different levels. They are obviously going to read on their own because the space is for that. The space is for people to be able to just relax and just read on their own.

Since St. Vincent and the Grenadines officially opened their embassy in Taipei in 2019, Bowman has dedicated herself to strengthening educational ties between the two countries. She hopes that the opening of the room can help Taiwan reach its "Bilingual 2030" goal as well as let more Taiwanese people learn more about St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Andrea Bowman
St. Vincent and the Grenadines ambassador
We, meaning a group of Caribbean English-speaking ambassadors, presented a platform to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Ministry of Education, and to the National Central Library. A platform for the promotion of the English language and English literature in Taiwan. Our reading room, having a reading room is a part of the platform. There are other aspects of that platform where we go out to different schools, we go out to different universities, we take our culture, we take our texts, we take our readings onto different platforms.

Before Bowman served as ambassador, she was a school principal for 13 years, which she says has greatly helped her successfully launch the embassy in Taiwan. Although the embassy is relatively new, it received the Republic of China Chamber of Commerce Golden Merchants’ Award for being the Most Outstanding Foreign Embassy and Mission in Taiwan in 2021. She hopes that through her post, she can foster deeper educational ties between Taiwan and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Since 2019, she has visited over 30 schools and given talks to students.

Andrea Bowman
St. Vincent and the Grenadines ambassador to Taiwan
I was over the moon. We were over the moon because it meant that whatever we had done in that small space of time was recognized and it made an impact. This is what we want to happen via our embassy. We want to be seen, heard, and understood. The ways in which how we have reached out to the Taiwanese community. These obviously come from my specific areas of focus. Me being an educator. In other words, I have visited thus far about 30 educational institutions here in Taiwan.

Bowman says her country’s embassy in Taiwan is the first and only in Asia. During her term as ambassador, Bowman also wants to further deepen cultural ties with Taiwan and let more people know about the beauty of Taiwan. One of her goals as ambassador is to invite more Taiwanese to visit her beautiful home, which boasts 32 islands and cays.

Andrea Bowman
St. Vincent and the Grenadines ambassador to Taiwan
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is made of 32 islands and cays. That in itself tells about the ecological beauty and about the spread of our beautiful islands. Because we 32 islands and cays we have a great deal of water. We have beautiful beaches. We have black sand beaches. We have white sand beaches. Every single St. Vincent knows about Taiwan. I can say that without any contradiction. Every single St. Vincent knows about Taiwan. But were I to step out on the street of our embassy right now, I can bet you that the first Taiwanese I meet have never heard of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We need to do better. We need to be able to allow the Taiwanese to recognize that we are friends and that we have been friends for a very long time. We are here to work with Taiwan.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Taiwan have enjoyed 42 years of steadfast diplomatic relations. The two countries share values of freedom, democracy, and human rights. Having served as Taiwan’s ambassador for four years now, Bowman plans to renew her term and continue to strengthen the ties between the two countries.

2023-03-26

Cloud seeding conducted amid long overdue rain in the south

According to local beliefs, the first thunder of spring will usher in rain, and indeed, thunder rumbled yesterday, which, sure enough, was followed by rain. As a weather front passed through the island, the Water Resources Agency seized the opportunity to carry out artificial rainmaking at reservoirs across the nation. But at the end of the day, the overall intake was still negligible.

At long last, a downpour in Southern Taiwan. The Water Resources Agency seized the opportunity to carry out cloud seeding, an artificial rainmaking operation. Flares were launched Saturday night at Zengwen Reservoir, Cishan and Namasia Districts, as well as at Jiaxian Weir in Kaohsiung. Officials hoped that cloud seeding would increase precipitation by 10% to 30%, giving Southern Taiwan a temporary relief from the current drought.

Before the weather front reached the south, it arrived in Northern Taiwan first, where cloud seeing was also performed. In addition to launching flares, workers also burned chemicals in canisters on the ground, in hopes of increasing the rainfall. All these efforts are done because the drought has affected not only the south, but also some places in the north. Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan is also seeing its water level recede. A land deity’s temple and a prairie that had been submerged when the reservoir was constructed back in the 1960s have now reappeared.

Voice of Kuo Yao-cheng
Northern Region Water Resources Office
With the release of the artificial flares, we hope to bring as much rain as possible into Shihmen reservoir.

As water levels continue to drop at reservoirs across the nation, cloud seeding was also carried out at Second Baoshan Reservoir, which is the main water source for Hsinchu, and Mingde Reservoir, which supplies the Miaoli area, and Liyutan, which supplies Miaoli and Taichung . However, at the end of the day, the water intake still left a lot to be desired.

Wang Yi-feng
Water Resources Agency
The main problem is that the land has been dry for too long, so when the rain falls, a considerable amount is absorbed by the land. Although yesterday’s rain has helped somewhat, the greater benefit may be that after yesterday’s rain, the plains now have more water for irrigation.

According to data, water levels at the nation’s reservoirs continue to drop. Taiwan’s largest reservoir, Zengwen Reservoir is only 11.3% full. The capacity at a dozen reservoirs, including Baoshan, Mingde, and Liyutan is less than 40%. With the continuing drought, more rain is all one can hope for.

2023-03-26

Alcohol useless against norovirus and enterovirus, hand washing required: doctors

2023-03-26

Taiwanese American starts pet sitter platform

Have you ever wondered where to go if you need a pet sitter? Today, we’ll take you to meet the founder of a pet-sitter platform in Taiwan. Candace Chen is the founder of the platform, which she created in 2019. The pet-care app helps pet owners easily find local pet care by matching pets with certified pet sitters in their area. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to Chen to find out more about the platform.

She plays with Skye and then feeds her.

After eating a light snack, it’s time for a walk. Over the years, more and more Taiwanese are becoming proud pet owners. Seeing this demand, many Taiwanese are also starting their own businesses and providing more pet-friendly products and services.

This app offers dog walking, grooming, fostering, and pet sitter drop-in services for dogs, cats, raccoons, birds and hamsters. Before sitters can begin offering their services, they will have to take an online course to learn how to correctly take care of pets. All pet sitters are trained and verified. Pet owners can view the sitters’ reviews before booking.

Candace Chen
Founder
It’s a pet-care marketplace that helps urban pet parents find local, trusted, and loving pet sitters easily. We have a matching platform. Essentially kind of like an Airbnb for pets. Traditionally, I would ask my friends and family to help or I can send her to a kennel or a pet shop but now I can easily find someone that can take care of her like I take care of her at home. This person is nearby and is trained and is someone that I can trust that will send me updates and reports all the time through the app. It is something that we offer. We can easily find someone that we can trust that can take care of our babies. We also have dog walking, grooming services, and so on.

Chen is the founder of this pet-sitter platform. Chen grew up in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. in high school. After graduating from California Polytechnic State University, she started working at Pepsi in the U.S. She later on started her own juice startup in the U.S. selling Taiwanese dragon fruit juice. However, after a few years working in the U.S., she decided to move back to Taiwan in 2019. Being a dog lover herself and seeing the potential in the Taiwanese market for pet-care services, she decided to create a platform customized to the Asian market to solve pet owners’ pet care problems, provide jobs for people, and improve pets’ lives.

Candace Chen
Founder
It was a crazy incident. I was at the mall doing some PR events. There was a shooter. I was there at the PR event, there was a shooter, and I had a life flashback at that point. At that point, I realized we have not made enough impact. We are only targeting upper upper-class people. This is a 10 dollar juice and I miss my family. So all these flashbacks coming through so I decided at that point I wanted to do something in Taiwan and do something here. I brought Skye over to Taiwan and I realized there was an opportunity here . Everyone has a dog but people were still sending their dogs to very traditional kennels so I wanted to bring something innovative and impactful. Also, I know being a pet sitter put me through college. Creating jobs this type of platform and tech solution can help a lot of people.

To date, the app has garnered 59,396 registered users and 25,000 pet sitters. But success also comes with hardship, as the pandemic led to a drop in bookings. It was then that the team launched a contactless dog walking service for home-quarantined pet owners. The owner ties their dog’s leash to their door handle, and then the dog sitter picks up the dog without any physical contact with the owner.

Candace Chen
Founder
We pivoted from targeting people who were traveling to people that actually got COVID and couldn’t walk their dogs anymore because they were in quarantine. We talked to our users really fast and figured out a way to help people in that situation to help take care of their dogs and cats. That actually helped us grow during the pandemic. Eventually, we want to get to 100,000 sitters in the next two years because Uber Eats and Food Panda they did that. They created job opportunities that may not be as privileged. We really want to do that for people who love animals. We can create jobs for them.

Chen’s goal is to become the biggest pet care platform in Asia in five years, create more jobs for pet lovers, and expand to other markets in the world.

2023-03-26

Yushan sees first snowfall of the year amid a weekend of precipitation

2023-03-26

Mandarin Airlines resumes Taipei-Matsu flights after a 24-year hiatus