Taiwan’s decade-long ban on Japanese food imports from five Japanese prefectures following the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster would be a key topic in bilateral negotiations now that Taiwan has applied to join a Tokyo-led trade bloc, said Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), who heads the Cabinet’s Office of Trade Negotiations.
The government needs to deal with its ban on imports of agricultural and food products from the five prefectures, Deng said in an interview with the Central News Agency.
Although the Japanese government has said it would not make the issue’s resolution a condition for its support of Taipei’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Deng said the dispute has to be dealt with sooner or later.
“Taiwan will bring the issue to the negotiation table once both sides begin official talks on joining the CPTPP,” he said.
Some of the issues likely to be discussed during bilateral talks on lifting the ban would include specifying what kind of food and agricultural products would be allowed into Taiwan, which government agency would be responsible for inspecting the products imported from Japan and what kind of documents would be needed, he said.
“Whether to lift the ban will be decided based solely on scientific evidence,” he added.
Taiwan applied to join the CPTPP on Sept. 22.
It is in talks with all 11 members of the bloc to seek their support and learn about their pressing issues, Deng said.
Talks with Australia and Singapore are not expected to be too challenging, as Taiwan has no major trade disputes with them, he said, but added that talks with Vietnam are expected to be thorny, as Taipei and Hanoi compete in agricultural exports.
Taiwan’s application to join the CPTPP came less than a week after China also applied for membership, suggesting a rush by Taipei in response to Beijing’s bid.
Asked if he was worried that China would join the CPTPP before Taiwan, as was the case with the WTO, Deng said that during the early 2000s, economies around the world had high expectations of China, which was experiencing a significant economic boom at the time.
“How does the world see China now?” Deng asked.
Accession to the CPTPP requires a unanimous decision by all members, he said, adding that Australia, which is facing economic sanctions from China, has voiced its objection to Beijing’s bid.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from