The US supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including Interpol, a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The spokesperson made the statement after Taipei said that it was asking friendly nations to speak up at an Interpol executive committee meeting to support Taiwan’s participation at Interpol’s general assembly that opens on Nov. 16 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The spokesperson said Washington supports Taiwan’s participation in international organizations whether or not they require statehood.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“In organizations that require statehood for membership, the US supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation. This includes the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization], Interpol, WHO and the more than 60 international organizations in which Taiwan participates,” the spokesperson said.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Monday said that it sent a letter to ask that it participate as an observer at the Interpol assembly.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of International Organizations Director-General Bob Chen (陳龍錦) on Tuesday said that Interpol had received the letter sent by CIB Commissioner Tsai Tsan-po (蔡蒼柏) last month, but has yet to respond.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) yesterday told lawmakers that Taiwan’s participation in the assembly would be beneficial for China.
Asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) whether former Interpol president and Chinese Deputy Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei (孟宏偉) being under investigation would give Taiwan a better chance of attending the assembly, Hsu, who was appearing at the Legislative Yuan to report on the government’s drug policy, said the government is trying very hard to make that happen.
The Department of State’s expression of support for Taiwan’s participation was a strong boost for the nation’s effort to attend the assembly, he said.
Asked by People First Party Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) whether the government has received a response from Interpol, Hsu said it has not.
China’s obstruction is the only thing preventing Taiwan from taking part in the assembly, he said, adding that it has a great effect on global efforts to fight crime, such as the smuggling of illegal drugs.
Blocking Taiwan from participating in the assembly does not benefit the investigation of cross-border crimes in any way, he said.
More than 70 percent of illegal drugs circulating in Taiwan originate in China, he said.
He urged Beijing to allow Taiwan to join Interpol, adding that doing so would be helpful for maintaining peace around the world.
Asked by Liu whether a mechanism is in place for cross-strait cooperation against crime, National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) said that while the two sides are still cooperating on individual cases, these instances have become fewer.
The cases on which Taiwan and China are working more closely are fraud cases, which affect the property and safety of Taiwanese and Chinese, he said.
The two sides have also been working together in the fight against illegal drugs, he added.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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