A government poll published yesterday showed that 87 percent of respondents opposed China's claim that Taiwan is not qualified to seek observer status in the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and National Chengchi University's Center for China Studies carried out the poll last Thursday and Friday, after the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO's top decision-making body, rejected Taiwan's ninth application to become an observer.
Chinese Minister of Health Gao Qiang (
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Gao said Taiwan is a part of China, and is therefore not qualified to be a WHO observer. If Taiwan wants to participate in the WHA, Gao added, it should send health professionals to join China's delegation to the assembly and these Taiwanese experts shall be designated as delegates from "Taiwan, China."
Nearly 80 percent of respondents to the poll rejected the idea of sending health experts to join the Chinese delegation to the WHA under the title "Taiwan, China."
MAC Vice Chairman David Huang (
China, in commenting on Taiwan's WHO bid, denied the fact that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign state and that the ROC and China do not belong to each other, Huang said.
The poll showed that 67.8 percent of the respondents agreed that the ROC is a sovereign country and that the ROC and China do not belong to each other.
"There is high-level consensus among the Taiwanese people over what the current cross-strait status quo is. The present cross-strait status quo is that China and the ROC do not belong to each other," Huang said.
Sixty-seven percent of the respondents said they are dissatisfied with Taiwan's current status in the international community.
People in Taiwan are aware that the genial cross-strait atmosphere that Beijing created by inviting leaders of Taiwan's opposition parties to visit China "lasted only temporarily," Huang said.
More than 57 percent of respondents to the poll said they believe the Chinese authorities are unfriendly to the government. The figure is 10 percentage points higher than that in a similar poll the MAC conducted on May 4.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
The public in Taiwan knows that China, which is good at playing a "two-faced strategy," has never relented its merciless oppression of Taiwan, added Huang.
Beijing's efforts to create a cordial atmosphere between Taiwan and China by inviting Lien and Soong to visit China, noted Huang, have not changed the Taiwanese people's intention to maintain the cross-strait status quo.
The poll showed the Taiwanese people are firmly opposed to China exerting pressure on other countries to block Taiwan's participation in international organizations, the official said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS