So, I was very happy to accept the invitation from the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to spend a week in Taipei in September as a member of a Global Media Delegation of 20.
I didn’t expect to be watching the progress of Typhoon Haikui heading for Taiwan in the days before I headed out and wasn’t sure until the last minute that I would actually make it to Taipei. Typhoon Haikui made landfall in Eastern Taiwan as I landed in Taipei. It brought with it winds of 96 miles per hour and gusts of 120 mph, damage and suspension of activity in parts of the country.
This was my second visit to Taiwan. For those of you who have never visited, Taipei has lots to offer in the way of history, shopping, restaurants, and — as one Taiwanese exhibitor at SEMICON Taiwan 2023 said to me, if you dine out and shop, the prices are fair. At 7-11 and its local equivalent Family Mart — the prices are indeed very acceptable.
SEMICON Taiwan — a conference for the semiconductor industry, this year attracted 950 exhibitors with 3,000 booths, and more than 62,000 visitors — with good reason. Several participants were staying at our hotel, the Palais de Chine.
Also at our hotel were members of a U.S. Congressional delegation, and of course I was more than happy to talk about Guam with two of them.
I knew I would have a little work to do on promoting our island when one of my fellow journalists asked me, “What’s the population of your country?” But I was encouraged that another journalist knew the design of the Guam flag. “It’s the one with a boat on it,” he said.
The first three days were full of meetings. More on those later, but the last two days offered some sightseeing, including a visit to the Kavalan whisky distillery. Kavalan whiskies have won numerous awards and as a whisky drinker I was willing to be further educated. It’s been a while since I’ve visited a distillery (in Scotland).
Sadly, since I was traveling with hand luggage only, I didn’t purchase anything at the Kavalan shop. Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport stocks not only has Kavalan, but also a variety of whiskies, at fair prices. But alas, you can’t purchase them if you are transiting through another airport, which I was.
More on future direct flights between Guam and Taipei also ahead in the paper. For the curious, Kavalan lines are available in Guam — imported through Lucky Supplies.
As to cross Strait relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Roy Chun Lee discussed that there are incursions by People’s Republic of China forces into Taiwan’s air and sea space following a visit by any prominent group or VIP, viewed as a provocation. “Even your visit is a provocation,” he said. And if any of us took that as a sign of our importance, he joked (at least I think he was joking) that we might only warrant two incursions.
And finally, thanks to everybody we met for the gracious welcome. Special thanks to MOFA officers: First Secretary Martin Jian (who some readers may remember from his assignment to the Marshall Islands), Vice Consul David Cho and Officer Wanyu Lin for their part in our schedule, and for all the discussions on topics large and small.
And thanks to Director Paul Chen and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office team – without their facilitation my invite and the trip would not have been possible. mbj
— Maureen N. Maratita is the publisher at Glimpses Media. Publications at Glimpses Media include the Marianas Business Journal, MBJ Life, The Real Estate Journal