TAROKO EXPRESS CRASH: Condolences pour in from Pope Francis, Dalai Lama, worldwide, ministry says
By Lu Yi-hsuan / Staff reporter
Hundreds of foreign dignitaries, including Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, have expressed condolences following a train derailment in Hualien County on Friday last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The crash was the nation’s worst rail tragedy in 40 years, killing 50 people and injuring 200 as of yesterday, after the Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office revised the death toll down from 51 following DNA testing.
The ministry said that as of noon yesterday, it had received messages from 745 heads of state, dignitaries or friends of the nation, and from 92 countries or international organizations.
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An Indian media report suggests that India may be developing global indices measuring the state of democracy and press freedom around the world, as New Delhi continues to smart from two of the most well-known ones that recently raised serious questions about both the state of both in the country. According to a Hindustan Times article published on March 17, an internal note from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs suggests that it is contemplating a “global democracy index” as well as a “global press freedom index” that would be created by an “independent” Indian think tank.
“In its internal note, MEA also suggested that missions across the world could actively engage with NGO/institutes such as the RSF [Reporters Without Borders] and V-Dem and provide them with material which will help them put ‘India at the rightful place on the democracy and press-freedom index, in future reports’,” the newspaper said.