Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) on Wednesday instructed all 121 embassies and representative offices worldwide to be vigilant in spotting and correcting the use of “Chinese Taipei” by foreign governments, non-governmental organizations, and media outlets when referring to Taiwan, spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said yesterday.
The instruction was handed down after it was recently discovered that the term “Chinese Taipei” had become quite prevalent when referring to Taiwan, Chen told the Taipei Times.
The nation’s correct name, said the spokesman, is the Republic of China (ROC), or Taiwan.
On Tuesday, the Taipei Times asked Chen about the use of “Chinese Taipei” in a Jakarta Post online news story dated Aug. 13 titled “14 Chinese Taipei shoemakers to assess possible investment.”
The Taipei Times also discovered that Boston University Library, the French car maker Citroen, the International Energy Agency and Wikigender.com also used the term “Chinese Taipei” as Taiwan’s official designation.
Several airlines, such as American Airlines, as well as some travel service agencies also call Taiwan “Chinese Taipei” because of the fact that the International Air Transport Association lists “Chinese Taipei” as one of its participating members.
Last week, Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) readers wrote in to the paper saying that “Chinese Taipei” appeared on the immigration homepage for both Australia and Thailand.
Canberra and Bangkok deleted the term and replaced it with “Taiwan” within 24 hours after MOFA notified them.
Lee Tsung-fen (李宗芬), deputy director-general of the Department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said yesterday that staff at the Jakarta Post explained that the Aug. 13 story was edited by a junior editor who “might have been influenced by the Olympic Games,” in which Taiwan was called “Chinese Taipei.”
“The Indonesia representative office expressed our concerns to the senior editor and he promised to convey our message to the staff,” Lee said, when asked if the paper had agreed to correct the mistake.
So far, only Boston University and Citroen have not answered the Taipei Times’ e-mail inquiries about their use of “Chinese Taipei.”
The term “Chinese Taipei” was created in March 1981 as a compromise reached among Beijing, the International Olympic Committee and the ROC government to allow Taiwanese athletes to compete in sporting events.
“Chinese Taipei” is also used as Taiwan’s designation in some international organizations such as APEC and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has proposed the use of “Chinese Taipei” in next year’s bid to join the WHO.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
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