The UN Sustainable Development Goals Advisory Council of Parliament was yesterday established under the Legislative Yuan, with lawmakers vowing to push the government toward achieving the goals.
The council selected Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) as chairwoman, and DPP legislators Karen Yu (余宛如) and Kolas Yotaka and New Power Party Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal as vice chairwomen.
The council is devoted to urging and supervising the government toward formulating policies to achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and to improve interactions between the government and non-governmental organizations in Taiwan and abroad, Lin said.
There is already an Association for Sustainable Development in the Legislative Yuan, which primarily focuses on environmental issues, but the council is to focus on broader issues, such as women’s rights, education and social welfare, Lin said.
Taiwan has encountered difficulties in participating in international bodies due to political constraints, but that should not deter the nation from taking up the responsibility of reaching the goals, Lin said.
“The discussion of Taiwan’s international participation has mainly focused on its isolation, but we should take more responsibilities, especially the goal of global partnership,” she said.
“Parliament-to-parliament exchanges with other nations can prevent Taiwan from becoming the missing piece in international relations and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” she said.
Taiwan can exercise its soft power internationally and make a reputation among leading nations by working on the sustainable development issues, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Chih-Chung Wu (吳志中) said.
Environmental Protection Administration Deputy Minister Thomas Shun-Kuei Chan (詹順貴) said that his agency, compared with other government bodies, has more opportunities in breaking the diplomatic deadlock, and sustainable development issues can be a starting point for improved diplomatic relations.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS