The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will look into why the WHO has made Taiwan the same color as China on its H1N1 influenza global outbreak map, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) told a legislative committee yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said the WHO Web site showed China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as “red,” which means the area has confirmed cases of the flu virus.
Taiwan remains H1N1-free while China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand have all confirmed cases of the virus.
“The government must protest this immediately. This mislabeling has already had an indirect negative impact on Taiwan’s economy,” she said during a meeting of the Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Yeh said the tourism industry had suffered a 40 percent setback because of the pandemic.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) demanded the ministry protest to the WHO over a memorandum of understanding (MOU) it signed with Beijing in 2005 to limit Taiwan’s participation in the organization.
The memorandum says Taiwan’s involvement in the WHO must be approved by Beijing and that all communications between Taiwan and the WHO must be via China.
The government does not recognize the WHO memorandum as valid.
“It is clear that Taiwan’s accession to the World Health Assembly [WHA] this year was an arrangement under the memorandum’s framework. Taiwan’s invitation from the director-general came after Beijing notified the WHO,” Kuan said.
Lin refuted Kuan’s assertion, saying Taiwan’s participation as an observer was a result of Taiwan’s direct consultation with the WHO.
He said he was certain Taiwan’s WHA observer status would be extended.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said the ministry had denigrated Taiwan’s sovereignty by not sending an official as part of the delegation to the WHA, which starts on Monday.
Lin said the delegate positions were all given to health experts. However, Paul Chang (章文樑), director-general of the ministry’s Department of International Organizations, would also accompany the delegation to oversee administrative affairs, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said the DPP’s criticism about Taiwan’s WHA participation was due to its envy of the KMT’s achievements.
Any party that cannot recognize the success of another “will never grow up,” he said.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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