The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the nation’s allies for their unwavering support for Taiwan’s UN bid after St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, St. Lucia and the Solomon Islands spoke in favor of Taiwan’s participation in the global body.
“We welcome such support and we appreciate our allies for their actions,” ministry Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said.
“We kept telling the press and the public to wait and see how our allies would help us out and this is a good example of it,” Chen said.
However, Chen did not comment on why Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has hinted in the past he may be interested in switching allegiance to Beijing, did not throw his weight behind the bid.
This year marked Taiwan’s 16th failed attempt to be admitted into the UN after it forfeited its seat in 1971 when the UN General Assembly agreed to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China.
Instead of bidding for full membership, Taiwan only requested “meaningful participation” in the activities of the agencies under the UN umbrella.
The bid was rejected when the UN General Committee on Tuesday refused to list the resolution on the assembly agenda.
Central News Agency reported that St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves commended Taiwan as a responsible stakeholder in the international community and for its push to ameliorate cross-strait relations with Beijing.
If Taiwan can be an active member of the WTO, he argued, there is no reason why Taiwan should be excluded from the WHO and other UN agencies.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Derek Sikua and Tuvaluan Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia Apisai urged UN member states to reward Taiwan’s efforts in assuaging cross-strait tensions by giving Taiwan the appropriate and much needed international space it needed and accept it in UN agencies.
St. Lucia Prime Minister Stephenson King said that although Taiwan does not have a seat in the global organization, it has never failed to contribute in the efforts to tackle global challenges such as diseases, disaster and food shortage.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost