Taiwan Can Help displaced people on Thailand’s western border.

Health care cooperation is improving lives and well-being in Southeast Asia. Dr. Pham Nhu Ngoc, a cardiologist of three years’ standing at Ho Chi Minh City-based Thu Duc District Hospital in Vietnam, is a walking, talking advertisement for the success of Taiwan government efforts to build better tomorrows for the people of New Southbound Policy (NSP) target countries.

Taiwan welcomed a record 11.84 million international tourists last year, a 7 percent increase over 2018, spotlighting the effectiveness of government policies to attract more visitors, according to the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Jan. 6.

The number of first-generation "new immigrants" in Taiwan exceeded 556,000 as of the end of November 2019. The term "new immigrants" is generally used to describe people from China and Southeast Asia who have married into Taiwanese families in the past two decades, as well as their children. They are becoming increasingly politically active, and their votes are being wooed by Taiwan's major political parties.

The Formosa Dreamers put an end to a losing streak with a dramatic turnaround victory against the visiting Singapore Slingers in Changhua City Sunday in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). The ABL 2019-2020 season began Nov. 16, 2019 with 10 teams from East Asia and Southeast Asia competing for the title. The regular season runs until March 29, 2020.

El Nido in the Philippines is the most popular emerging travel destination for Taiwanese tourists, according to an analysis released Dec. 26 by online travel website Booking.com.

The MOFA is helping cultivate the country’s next generation of leaders. Initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 2009, the program for college and graduate students aged 35 and under encourages participants to develop an interest in international affairs, promote Taiwan’s profile overseas and strengthen ties between the country and its like-minded partners.

The number of overseas visits made to Taiwan by foreign nationals hit another record high in 2019, helped by double-digit growth in visitors from Japan and South Korea, the Tourism Bureau said Monday. Foreign visitor arrivals total 11.84 million for the year, a 7 percent rise from the 11.07 million visits recorded in 2018, the statistics showed.

China Airlines (CAL) said Monday it will begin direct flight services between Taiwan's main airport in Taoyuan and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand on June 23, in a bid to build its presence in Southeast Asia. The service will start with one roundtrip flight every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, using its Boeing 738 aircraft, the carrier said.

Taiwan-based EVA Airways has been ranked the world's third safest carrier for 2020, maintaining its place on the top 20 list for the seventh year in a row, according to the latest rankings, which were compiled by an airline safety and product rating review website.