Despite China's audacious political maneuvers, Taiwan has managed to change its national title at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) from "Taiwan, China" to "Taiwan."
"Due to China's pressure and maneuvers, our group members at the IACP were forced to change the name of their country of origin from the `Republic of China' to `Taiwan, China' in November, 2001," said a Cabinet official who asked not to be named.
"The use of our national flag was also denied at all occasions," he said.
To voice the nation's utmost displeasure with China's audacity, the official said that the Cabinet ordered a boycott of the organization's annual conference in 2002 and filed a letter of protest.
After months of haggling and negotiations, members finally managed to change the national title and the use of national flags was restored during the IACP's last annual conference in Philadelphia in October last year, the official said.
"We've been keeping a very low profile in a bid to avert any further unnecessary hassles from China," the Cabinet official said.
Founded in 1893, the IACP is the world's oldest and largest non-profit organization of police executives. The organization has over 19,000 members and its membership now represents 101 countries.
The organization holds observer status with the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, and consultative status with the UN.
Taiwan joined the IACP in 1985, one year after the nation was elbowed out of Interpol by China in September, 1984 when China became a member state.
Established in 1923, Interpol's headquarters was located in Vienna and comprised of the General Assembly, the Executive Committee, the General Secretariat, the National Central Bureaus, and the Advisers.
The headquarters of Interpol moved to Paris, France in 1946 and then relocated to Lyons in October, 1989, where it remains to this day. The number of its member states has reached more than 181.
Taiwan joined Interpol in 1961 and formed the Criminal Investigation Bureau under the National Police Administration in 1979.
Despite the upsetting withdrawal from Interpol, the Criminal Investigation Bureau is still in close contact with the organization.
Interpol's fundamental role is to facilitate communication, which is accomplished by fostering a continuing exchange between countries and circulating new messages, memos and notices on a daily basis.
According to Chris Chang (章文正), International Criminal Affairs Division chief of the Criminal Investigation Bureau under the National Police Administration, the administration is a member of two international organizations: the IACP and the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police (IAASP).
The IAASP was formed in 1969 as a non-governmental and non-profit association. It is registered in the province of British Columbia, Canada and Washington state in the US.
The organization is dedicated to bringing together representatives of police administrations, other enforcement agencies and sectors of the transportation industry involved in the movement of cargo at airports and seaports around the world.
The association has served in a consultative capacity with the UN, the US Senate and the Canadian Ministry of Transport as well as other organizations.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue