The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said that Taiwan considers Mongolia an independent country.
The move follows the Ministry of the Interior's (MOI) recent decision to exclude Mongolia from the official map of the ROC.
"Mongolia declared independence in 1921 and became the 191st member of the United Nations in 1961. It has official diplomatic ties with 144 countries. Under international law, it is an independent country," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said during the ministry's routine weekly press conference.
The MOI announced its decision on the new national boundary as part of the amendment to the "Guidelines on Publication of the ROC Map," last week. The announcement was welcomed by academics and the media yesterday as a step toward the recognition of Mongolia as an independent state.
The ministry's move, however, sparked debate over whether recognition of Mongolia is a constitutional issue requiring deliberation by the National Assembly or just a practical matter that could be dealt with by amending administrative rules.
Emile Sheng (
Article 4 of the ROC Constitution states that the territory of the ROC may not be altered except by resolution of the National Assembly.
Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
"We made the decision out of practical considerations," Yu told reporters yesterday, adding that the constitutional issue was beyond his authority to deal with.
An MOI official said that Mongolia had not been part of ROC territory when the constitution was ratified in 1947 and that the matter should therefore not be considered a constitutional one.
The confusion surrounding the issue is based on the fact that the treaty whereby Taipei recognized Mongolia was revoked in 1953. The ministry's proposal would simply confirm Mongolia as enjoying the independent status it enjoyed before the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty of August 1945 was abrogated in 1953.
In that treaty, the ROC had agreed to recognize Mongolian independence if the Mongolian people voted in favor of it in a referendum. A referendum was held in October 1945, with the electorate voting overwhelmingly for independence. The ROC, therefore, recognized Mongolia in January 1946.
When the treaty was revoked in 1953, Mongolia was deemed by the ROC to have reverted to its control.
The MAC revised regulations earlier this year to allow Mongolian nationals to enter Taiwan using Mongolian passports, rather than separate travel documents issued by the Taiwan government.
The MOI also amended an article to grant the government the power to determine the nation's boundaries and capital on the official map, removing the former obligation to reflect the boundaries and capital as they were in 1949 when the ROC government fled China for Taiwan.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS