Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said on Thursday that the new administration would push forward with the nation’s bid to join the UN.
“Taiwan will definitely go ahead with its UN membership bid this year, as joining the international body is its established policy,” Wang told reporters upon his arrival in New York for a two-day visit.
However, Wang said that it was unlikely that the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would file an application for UN membership under the name “Taiwan,” which was used by the former Democratic Progressive Party government in its UN bid last year.
Asked whether the new administration is likely to apply for Taiwan’s UN membership under the name “Chinese Taipei,” Wang said the president had directed relevant government agencies to study the issue.
FAILED REFERENDUMS
Two referendums on the country’s entry into the global body under the name Taiwan and the national title Republic of China (ROC) — held alongside the March 22 presidential election — failed because neither of them attracted enough votes to make the outcomes binding. The Ma administration is expected to take a new tack in promoting the country’s UN bid.
Wang said he would host a banquet to honor UN ambassadors of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies yesterday. The event will be held to solicit their support for Taiwan’s UN membership bid during the upcoming annual meeting of the 63rd UN General Assembly, scheduled to open in mid-September.
Because of China’s obstruction, Taiwan has failed every year for more than a decade to regain its UN membership, which it lost in 1971.
US SUPPORT
Wang said he hoped that the US would continue to support Taiwan’s accession to global bodies that do not require statehood for membership.
“Taiwan is also looking forward to obtaining observer status in those organizations that do require statehood for membership, “ he said, referring to groups such as the WHO.
ENVOY LIEN
Referring to reports that Ma is expected to designate Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) honorary chairman Lien Chan (連戰) as his envoy to attend this year’s informal leadership meeting of the APEC forum scheduled for November in Peru, Wang said that Lien was well-suited to take part in the summit on Ma’s behalf.
Wang said the proposal was made to the president by an unidentified “diplomatic heavyweight.” He called for Beijing authorities not to boycott Lien’s participation in the upcoming APEC summit, if Ma does decide to send him.
APEC is one of the few international bodies that admit both Taiwan and China because its participants are labeled “member economies” and not countries. Because of China’s opposition, Taiwan’s president has been barred from personally attending APEC summits and has instead named special envoys to attend on his behalf.
Wang is making the visit at the invitation of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. He will proceed to the US capital tomorrow, where he will give a speech titled “New Beginnings in a Strong Alliance” at the foundation and meet with ranking US officials and congressmen to exchange views. The legislative head is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Aug. 1.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
RSS