The government officially recognizes Kosovo and seeks to establish relations with all freedom-loving countries, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday.
The announcement came one day after China condemned Taiwan for congratulating Kosovo on its newfound statehood, saying Taiwan does not have the right to "recognize" Kosovo.
Huang denied that yesterday's announcement was a reaction to Beijing's criticism.
"China's opposition did not come into our consideration. As a sovereign nation, Taiwan has the right to do whatever it believes is correct and just," he said.
Huang said that Taiwan is interested in establishing friendships and forging diplomatic ties with all countries that uphold the values of freedom and democracy.
He said Taiwan had made contact with Kosovar media and officials on several occasions over the past two years.
"We look forward to further contact with Kosovo in the future," he said, adding that Taiwan would provide aid to Kosovo if required.
He said Taiwan had planned to recognize Kosovo since its declaration of independence, but had waited for major countries to make their stance clear. Had Taiwan not made its announcement yesterday, it might have appeared that Taipei was cowed by Beijing, he said.
In announcing the US' recognition on Monday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cautioned that Kosovo was a "special case" and "cannot be seen as a precedent for any other situation in the world today."
When asked if Rice was talking about Taiwan, Huang said "every country is a special case."
President Chen Shui-bian (
In a speech to the foreign ministry's spring dinner for the Taipei diplomatic corps at the Grand Hotel, Chen urged all democracies to work together in unity and support all groups seeking democratic progression.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we