President Chen Shui-bian (
"Although it is not satisfactory [to attend as `Chinese Taipei'], we will respect it, since it was the tacit understanding that was originally established," Chen said.
In October 1991, both China and Taiwan signed memorandums of understanding with South Korea, and Taiwan agreed to enter APEC under the name of "Chinese Taipei." Taiwan entered APEC in Seoul in 1991 along with China and Hong Kong.
PHOTO: AFP
But Beijing has repeatedly blocked Taiwan's presidents and foreign ministers from attending the annual forums. As a result, the president must always appoint an envoy to go on his behalf.
"If I were able to attend this year's summit, I would respect the agreement that was originally established and not challenge the title issue," he said.
He said China should have no reason to object to Taiwan attending the meeting as "Chinese Taipei."
Chen made the remarks as he received Kim Jong-hoon, an envoy sent by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to deliver an invitation to Chen to attend the APEC leaders' summit in Pusan.
Some 6,000 leaders and officials from 21 APEC countries are expected to take part in the Nov. 18-19 meeting.
Chen told Kim that the summit should be a venue for talks between Taiwan and China's leaders.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Chen said it is the international community's expectation that both sides of the Taiwan Strait engage in dialogue and reconcile.
"The APEC leaders' summit is not a political setting. It is the best platform to discuss regional economic cooperation, and a suitable place to let the leaders of the two sides make contact and hold discussions," Chen said.
Taiwanese leaders should not be excluded from the annual summit, as the country, like all other APEC members, is entitled to enjoy its rights and assume its obligations in the organization, he said.
Noting that South Korea had written history in 1991 with its shuttle diplomacy between Taipei and Beijing to negotiate APEC membership, Chen said he hoped "the APEC leaders' summit to be hosted by South Korea this time could write history again."
"I hope President Roh Moo-hyun can help me attend this year's APEC summit in Pusan," he said.
Meanwhile, officials are hedging their bets on Chen's chances of actually attending the summit.
"Numerous factors will impact whether [Chen's participation] will be realized," said an official who wished to remain anonymous. "We will try our best."
The name "Chinese Taipei" was accepted because it offered ample room for interpretation by both Taipei and Beijing. China calls Taipei "Chung-kuo Taipei" (中國台北) since "Chung-ku" is the Mandarin abbreviation for the People's Republic of China, and this address satisfies Beijing's need to proclaim that Taiwan is a part of China. Taiwan calls itself "Chung-hua Taipei" (中華台北), because "Chung-hua" is the abbreviation for the Republic of China.
also see story
Editorial: What's Chen up to this time?
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS