NMI governor leads delegation to Taiwan

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and other officials from the Northern Mariana Islands are currently in Taiwan “as part of the administration’s efforts to strengthen the CNMI’s resiliency,” according to an Oct. 30 release from the Office of the Governor.



The delegation includes Donald Manglona, vice president of the Senate; Rep. John Paul Sablan, chairman of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation; Rep. Angelo Camacho, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee; and Christopher A. Concepcion, executive director of the Marianas Visitors Authority.



The group was invited to visit the country by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam and the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will be in the country until Nov. 4, having arrived on Oct. 30. The visit was approved by the U.S. Department of State, according to the governor’s office and will be at no cost to the delegation.

The group was tentatively scheduled to meet with representatives of MOFA and other key government leaders, representatives from China Airlines, the Taiwan Travel Authority, Taiwan utilities operators and construction companies, the Taiwan Adventist Hospital, and attend the Taiwan Travel Fair at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1, which begins Nov. 3.
The Travel Fair was due to attract exhibitors from 104 cities and countries and will have 1,300 booths representing tour agencies, hotels, airlines, amusement parks and restaurants, according to media reports.

MVA has had a travel office in Taipei at various times. The authority hosted a media familiarization tour for Taiwanese media in December 2019, as well as sending a group to the 2019 Diving Resort Travel Expo in Taiwan in May 2019. In years prior, Continental Airlines flew between Saipan and Taipei. MVA has made various efforts to revive the market in the past.
China Airlines has retained its signatory status at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam according to Journal files, but its flights remain suspended.

The (Seventh Day) Adventist Hospital in Taipei is accredited as a teaching hospital and offers a full range of specialties. In 2008 the hospital “established the International Healthcare Center to provide efficient multi-lingual and patient-oriented services and to ensure timely access to physician consultation and treatments,” according to Taipei Medical Tourism. The hospital serves more than 10,000 international patients annually.

Other VIP visitors to Taiwan at the same time include the governor of Montana and a three-member delegation of European parliamentarians. mbj