Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) told the Taipei Times last night that he had formally approved yesterday the controversial proposal, submitted to him earlier in the day by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the words "Issued in Taiwan" be added to the cover of new Taiwan passports
The word will be placed alongside the country's formal designation "Republic of China."
Earlier in the day, officials, including the president, had sought to defuse domestic and cross-strait criticism of the move.
In addition, Vice Premier Lai In-jaw (
"Besides, it requires one-third of lawmakers to file such a request, and it's highly unlikely that that is going to happen," Lai said.
In a private dinner banquet with the Taipei Times and its sister paper, the Liberty Times, Chang said that the issue is quite different from a change to the country's official name.
"They're two separate issues," he said. "I have no idea why they mix them up."
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) took the nation by surprise when he announced on Sunday that the word "Taiwan" is to be added to the cover of Taiwanese passports. He did so on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Washington-headquartered Formosan Association for Public Affairs (台灣人公共事務會).
"It's the most precious gift for the occasion," he said.
Opposition parties then questioned why the foreign affairs ministry bypassed the Cabinet, and threatened to boycott the annual budget and bills awaiting final approval at the legislature if the government insists on the change.
According to Chang, the foreign affairs ministry presented three different proposals to him in December.
"I didn't approve any of them," he said. "I told them to present only one to me and it had to meet three criteria."
Firstly, he said, Taiwanese passports had to be made easily distinguishable from Chinese passports. Secondly, they had to retain the designation "Republic of China," and, thirdly, they had to follow international practice.
Earlier yesterday, in the face of criticism from China, officials tried to defuse the uproar over the Sunday announcement.
"We haven't changed the country's name. We've just added `Issued in Taiwan.' It's just like attaching the `Made in Taiwan' label to our products, and it's something in which we all feel pride," President Chen said.
Responding to criticism from opposition parties about the occasion and timing of his announcement on Sunday, he said, "The occasion was right. So was the timing. It also served as recognition of the efforts made over the past 20 years by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs."
China's state-run China Daily yesterday quoted an anonymous official at the Taiwan Affairs Office as saying the passport decision was a sign that Taiwan was "inching towards independence."
Also See Stories and Editorial:
Some say change reeks of independence
DPP takes issue with words `issued in'
Editorial: Passport clarification welcomed
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
RSS