China is expected to face intensified pressure from the international community before the Beijing Olympics over its support for the Sudanese government, but Taiwan so far has no plans to boycott the Games, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said on Friday.
"As the host country, China has been under tremendous pressure, but it should not shun its obligations as a member of the international community," MAC Vice Chairman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said in response to a question on US film director Steven Spielberg's withdrawal as an artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics in August early last week.
Spielberg made the announcement on Tuesday after China failed to do more to end the conflict in Darfur in western Sudan that has left hundreds of thousands dead and displaced more than 2 million people.
Before Spielberg withdrew, a number of celebrities, international media watchdogs and human rights organizations had been calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics because of China's support for the Sudanese government, which has been blamed for most of the atrocities in the conflict and has used Chinese-made weapons against its enemies in Darfur.
Asked if Taiwan would consider boycotting the event, Liu said that "there have been no substantial discussions on that matter from our side."
China has been engaged in intense competition for energy and mineral products as part of its "peaceful rise," which is why it has been developing close diplomatic relations with a number of authoritarian regimes, Liu said.
The UN and other international organizations are trying to pressure China and ask it to play a more positive and responsible role in handling the Darfur situation and its own domestic human rights situation, Liu said.
"If China wants to reassure the international community about its peaceful rise, it should not merely sit by and watch -- or shield -- the injustice in front of its face," Liu said.
"By failing to change its behavior, it would make its anti-democratic attitude and lack of respect for human rights all the more obvious," he said.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate