JEDDAH, 5 January 2004 — Taiwan is hosting a conference of Islamic scholars in mid-March. “The conference, which was scheduled last year, was postponed due to the Iraq war and SARS,” Chin-Ray Liu, director general at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Jeddah, said yesterday.
“The conference, being organized by Taiwan’s Chenchi University from March 15-16, will focus on the teachings of Islam and how students and young people can benefit from them,” Liu told Arab News. The event will follow the Taiwan presidential election on March 10.
The conference is a follow-up of the annual summer camps organized by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) for Taiwanese students.
He said Taiwan’s 30-member Haj delegation is arriving on Jan. 15. They will be given a reception at the local Taipei representative office on Jan. 22. The number is the same as last year, he said, adding that Taiwan’s Muslims make up less than one percent of its 23 million population.
The trade volume between the two countries had dropped to $2.5 billion last year from $3 billion in the previous year. “The bilateral trade remains in favor of the Kingdom as our exports amount to only $400 million,” Liu said.
The local Taipei representative office runs a Chinese language course every Thursday at its premises off Madinah Road. Some 30 to 40 children are currently enrolled in it.
He estimated that there are some 2,000 expats with Taiwanese passports in the Kingdom. “However, there are only 200 native Taiwanese among them,” Liu said.
