One hundred EU parliamentarians have once again voiced their support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN as a full member.
The parliamentarians issued a joint statement in favor of Taiwan's UN bid that was carried in the weekly European Voice on Wednesday.
Taiwan will hold two referendums today, alongside the presidential election. A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-initiated referendum will ask voters whether Taiwan should rejoin the UN under the name of its official title, the Republic of China, or any other "practical" name, while a Democratic Progressive Party-proposed referendum calls for joining the UN under the name "Taiwan."
The EU lawmakers said that Taiwan is a sovereign state and a full-fledged democracy that has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China.
They said they have demanded in a number of resolutions EU support of Taiwan's UN bid, pointing out that the people of Taiwan deserve "better representation" globally, as the country is represented in only a few important international organizations such as the WTO, APEC and the Asian Development Bank.
Noting that Taiwan has a fully developed economy and has made commendable contributions to the international community, the lawmakers called for EU member countries, as well as UN member countries, to "seriously" consider Taiwan's bids to join the UN.
The parliamentarians included Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the European Parliament, Georg Jarzembowski, chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group; and Graham Watson, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, in Taipei yesterday, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher told a press conference that the people of Taiwan should fully participate in today's election and not be intimidated by threats unleashed by a "rogue nation."
Rohrabacher, a staunch supporter of Taiwan in Washington who co-chairs the Taiwan Caucus, is part of the US delegation to observe the election and the referendums today.
Rohrabacher stressed that his statements only reflect his personal view and do not represent that of the US government. He also made it clear that he does not endorse any particular candidate because "the decision must only be made by the Taiwanese people."
Rohrabacher answered with a resolute "yes" when asked by the Taipei Times at the press conference if he believed recent statements by US Secretary of State Condelezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte chastising the referendum for applying for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" as "provocative," and "unhelpful" had crossed the line for a foreign spectator.
He went on to say he believes Taiwan has a "legitimate government," more so than China where free elections do not exist, and deserves to have a UN seat.
After four free and fair elections, Taiwan should not and will not be intimidated by a "tyrannical regime" because allowing this to happen would only embolden the oppressors, he said.
Taiwan's "shining democracy," he said, serves as an example in the region, including to people in China.
Calling the Beijing Games an "Olympic fraud," the congressman slammed China for using the games to disguise its human rights abuses in Tibet and against Falun Gong practitioners, and its persistent oppression of Taiwan.
Rohrabacher was one of the nine congressional members who wrote a letter urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put a vote to the floor on boycotting the Games in August due to China's recent bloody crackdown on Tibetan protesters in Lhasa.
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 —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary