The Dutch House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a motion supporting Taiwan’s participation in the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Proposed by Dutch lawmakers of parliament Agnes Mulder and Kees van der Staaij, the motion was passed in a 149-0 vote, with one absentee, the Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands said in a news statement.
The motion referred to Taiwan as an important partner of the Netherlands in business and combating global crime, and said that Taiwan’s request for meaningful participation in Interpol was legitimate.
Photo: AP
It also urged the Dutch government to work with other countries to explore ways to support Taiwan in its bid to participate as an observer in Interpol’s general assembly, and take part in the meetings and training programs that the transnational crime control body organizes.
The passage of the motion came on the same day that Interpol’s general assembly began in Turkey.
Representatives from the body’s 194 member states are to elect new leadership and vote on policy in a three-day session in Istanbul.
Tuesday’s motion was another display of support for Taiwan from the Dutch parliament, as it adopted a motion backing Taiwan’s participation in international organizations in 2019, the representative office said.
Support for the country from the Dutch administration has also grown in the past few years, it said, adding that Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Ben Knapen told parliament last week that his country supported the inclusion of Taiwan in Interpol.
Taiwan joined Interpol in 1961 under the name Republic of China, but was forced to withdraw in 1984 after the entry of the People’s Republic of China. Its participation has been blocked since then under a resolution passed at Interpol’s 53rd general assembly the same year.
Taiwan seeks to take part in Interpol’s general assembly as an observer, and hopes to participate in all the organization’s meetings, mechanisms and activities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique