President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday cast doubt on the existence of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) allegedly signed by Beijing and the WHO in 2005, challenging the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration’s claim that the document was signed to limit Taiwan’s participation in the organization.
“I’ve heard such an allegation, but there is no way for us to find out because we were not in power in 2005,” Ma said. “We don’t know whether such a document exists, nor do we want to see such a document exist.”
Ma made the remarks during an interview with the China Television Co (CTV, 中視) yesterday morning.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Emphasizing that Taiwan’s participation in the activities of UN specialized agencies was not only a political issue but also a human rights issue, Ma said Beijing would invite international pressure if it rejected the nation’s participation.
“Beijing keeps saying that it cares about the Taiwanese and that Taiwan is part of China,” Ma said. “What kind of care is it if it does not care about the medical rights of the Taiwanese?”
While some have criticized the annual application for WHA observer status, Ma said all participants in the WHA received annual invitations, whether they are considered countries, groups, WHO members or observers.
The WHO would be under a lot of pressure if it decided not to extend the invitation again next year because it was somehow upset with Taiwan, he said.
“Cross-strait relations would seriously backtrack if that was the case,” Ma said. “I don’t think mainland China would be that stupid.”
When asked what other international organization his administration would attempt to join after getting observer status at the WHA, Ma said the priority was to prove Taiwan’s worth in the WHA and that it would be “impractical” to seek accession to other organizations, such as the WHO.
“You must understand our success this year has a lot to do with our flexible, practical and low-key approach,” he said. “The key factors leading to that success are the efforts of the public and all political parties, the goodwill of China and strong support from the international community.”
Regarding the year-end elections, Ma said he would support candidates who won the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) primaries. He also urged Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-cheng (鄺麗貞), who lost Sunday’s primary, to respect the results of the poll.
While acknowledging Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei’s (周錫瑋) hard work, he urged Chou to aggressively promote his achievements.
Ma still remained tight-lipped about his intention to take over the chairmanship of the party, saying the public would find out next month.
On financial cooperation with China, Ma said he did not know exactly when both sides would sign the memorandums of understanding, but that it should happen soon.
Ma said the direction of the government’s economic policy was correct and that the recent boost in the stock market did not result from Chinese capital because none has been injected into the market as yet.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS