China intends to marginalize Taiwan, and that is why it signed a trade pact with ASEAN states at the regional summit meeting in Laos on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
"Taiwan is excluded from the current integration within ASEAN. This is harmful and unfair to economic and trade development in East Asia," ministry spokesman Michel Lu (
"Taiwan can offer ASEAN members quality goods at good prices through the multilateral trade mechanism, so why exclude Taiwan from the regional body?" he asked.
The trade agreement between China and ASEAN is one of Beijing's economic approaches to marginalize Taiwan, Lu said.
Related government agencies will try to communicate with ASEAN through different channels and discuss how to respond to regional economic integration in the future, he said.
"Taiwan, with its trade and economic strength and highly educated people, can be a contributor to East Asia," Lu said.
As ASEAN leaders agreed to hold the East Asia Summit outside the formal ASEAN regions next year, Taiwan will try to join the summit even though it knows the possibility of participation is slim, he said.
"We face practical difficulties. On the political front, China will certainly prevent us from joining the summit. Yet we still need to look for opportunities to participate," Lu said.
Jich Wen-chich (
"If the trade pact will exclude non-partners, the existing multilateral trade bodies would not allow it to do so. The World Trade Organization (WTO) may take actions to alleviate [the impact incurred by the pact]," Jich said.
The WTO imposed many restrictions on regional free trade agreements and preferential treatment, which would limit the influence of the China-ASEAN trade accord, Jich said.
Most countries have low tariffs for imported electronics, which represents a vital portion of Taiwan's export market. Therefore, the trade accord between China and ASEAN, which aims to lower or abolish tariffs, is unlikely to affect Taiwan too much, he said.
The China-ASEAN trade pact can be seen as a sign of integration in East Asia, Jich said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS