The Japanese government welcomes all countries, including Taiwan, that can accept the principles and standards of a Japanese-led international economic bloc and has called on Taipei to solicit support to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a Taiwanese diplomat said yesterday.
The government has confirmed Tokyo’s official stance of welcoming Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Deputy Secretary-General Hsieh Bor-huei (謝柏輝) told a news briefing.
It has always been Japan’s stance that such a trade deal would be open to countries or regions that accept its principles and are willing to meet its standards, Hsieh added.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
Japan also suggested that Taiwan should solicit support from more CPTPP members, because the trade group operates by consensus, he said.
A previous comment made by Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono, who said that Taiwan’s decision to maintain a ban on Japanese food products from areas affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster might hamper Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, was made in response to media inquires and might only reflect his personal view, Hsieh said.
On Nov. 24 last year, 78 percent of Taiwanese voters cast ballots in favor of the ban.
Asked about Tokyo’s stance regarding the result during a Dec. 7 news conference, Kono expressed disappointment and said that his government would consider filing a complaint with the WTO.
Hsieh said that Taiwan has been trying to amend ties with Japan since the referendum.
Taiwan is considering learning from the US and the EU, which screen certain food products imported from Japan’s nuclear disaster-affected areas to ensure they are safe to eat, instead of banning them altogether, he said.
“In this way, we can make sure the health of Taiwanese is protected, while at the same time staying in line with international standards when dealing with food safety issues,” he said.
The CPTPP last month agreed to expand its membership during its first commission meeting in Tokyo.
Participating countries in a joint ministerial statement highlighted the importance of expanding the agreement by taking in new members to form a stronger united front against the rise of protectionism.
CPTPP member countries understand that Taiwan is interested in joining the trade bloc, and the government would continue to communicate with them and seek their support, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The CPTPP came into being after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017.
The other 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries — Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — renegotiated the free-trade deal and signed it in March last year.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS