The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has stopped referring to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei” in official documents in response to a complaint from the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA).
The complaint was lodged following the earthquake in Chile about six weeks ago when there were fears that a resulting tsunami could reach Taiwan.
At the time, the NOAA issued a tsunami alert in which it referred to Taiwan as Chinese Taipei.
In a letter to the NOAA — an agency affiliated with the US Department of Commerce — FAPA president Bob Yang (楊英育) said that it was an “incontestable reality that Taiwan is not a part of China.”
He said that in 1996 the US State Department issued a memorandum saying that since the US had no diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, US officials should refer to the country as “Taiwan.”
At a later date, William Burns, executive secretary of the State Department at the time, ruled that “consistent with the unofficial nature of US-Taiwan ties, we refer to Taiwan simply as Taiwan.”
Yang told NOAA that it was “of concern to my members” that the organization was referring to Taiwan as Chinese Taipei.
“I respectfully request that NOAA adopt the long-established US State Department guidelines consistent with US national policies and correct this factual error,” wrote Yang.
In response, Dan Thompson, director of international activities at NOAA, said that after consulting with the American Institute in Taiwan, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had “corrected” its database and that in future it would refer to Taiwan by its proper name — Taiwan.
“We are pleased with the outcome,” a FAPA official said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS