The European Parliament yesterday upheld a ban on arms sales to China, citing Beijing's threats against Taiwan as one of the key justifications for keeping the restrictions.
The parliament, which traditionally takes a strong line on human rights, said it believed "it is the wrong time, in view of the Chinese threats against Taiwan, to open the way to a lifting of the European arms embargo."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed its welcome for the European Parliament's demand that the EU maintain its arms embargo against China on the grounds of China's poor human rights record.
"It is the fourth time that the European Parliament passed a resolution that rejected proposals to lift the embargo against China. We call on all EU member states to acknowledge the strong desire of the 450 million European people," the MOFA's press release stated.
On Thursday, the assembly voted to continue the embargo, which was initiated by the EU after the Tianamen Square Massacre in 1989. Ninety-nine members opposed for lifting the ban, 2 voted for opening arms sale, and 7 abstained from voting.
Parliamentary deputies across the political spectrum voiced opposition to lifting the embargo in view of Beijing's human rights abuses in Tibet.
Article V of the resolution called on the EU Council of Ministers and the 25 member states "to maintain the European Union embargo on trade in arms with the People's Republic of China and not weaken national restrictions on such arms sales."
The parliament also stressed that the embargo should continue until the EU had adopted a code of conduct providing legal restraints on arms exports, and until China took "concrete measures to improve its human rights situation."
The MOFA responded to the move by saying the resolution "does conform with the good momentum in the development of the EU's refusal to lift the ban since 2003."
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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