SYDNEY: A group of Australian MPs will leave on Sunday for a five-day visit to Taiwan, a spokesman for one of the politicians said on Saturday, risking China´s ire just as Beijing-Canberra relations appeared to be thawing.
The bipartisan trip will be the first such Taiwan visit in more than three years, a period marked by a long disruption to air travel caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Details of the visit were confirmed to AFP by a spokesman for Scott Buchholz, a conservative MP who is in the delegation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to play down the mission´s significance after it was first reported by the Weekend Australian newspaper.
“There have been backbench visits to Taiwan for a long time. This is another one. This isn´t a government visit,” he told reporters.
Albanese said both major Australian political parties supported the “One China” policy, which recognises Beijing, not Taipei, while backing the status quo on the self-ruled island.
Mobsters have moved aggressively into the low-risk, low-key world of white-collar crime
Deby has promised to bolster security, strengthen the rule of law and increase electricity production
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the attack took place near the village of Berezovka
Under Iraqi law, terrorism and murder offences are punishable by death
The Turkish defence ministry said the PKK militants had been “neutralised” in the Hakurk region
According to Italian broadcaster RAI, the workers suffered from toxic gas poisoning