The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked 12 of the nation’s allies for speaking out in support of Taiwan, after they on Tuesday voiced “serious concern” over recent Chinese military drills in a joint statement to the UN.
The statement also praised Taiwan’s composed response to the drills — launched in the days after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelsoi visited Taipei from Aug. 2 and 3.
Beijing’s actions threaten regional peace and security, the nations’ ambassadors to the UN said, urging other nations to dissuade China from its attempts to change the “status quo.”
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Honduras and the Vatican are the only two of the nation’s 14 diplomatic allies that did not sign the statement, although the Vatican is not a full member of the UN.
The signatories were Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu.
On Aug. 11, during a visit to Taiwan, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves revealed that the nation’s allies were drafting a letter to the UN to condemn Chinese military coercion against Taiwan.
At the time, he said that the statement would address the “unreasonable, disproportionate and wholly wrong conduct” of the People’s Republic of China.
In Taipei yesterday, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) expressed the nation’s “sincere gratitude” for the statement.
The letter reaffirms allies’ concern for regional peace and stability, and commitment to upholding the rules-based international order under the tenets of the UN Charter, she told a regular news conference.
Ou also reiterated Taiwan’s condemnation of Chinese military coercion, which disrupts the international order, as well as global trade and movement.
The ministry calls on the international community to recognize China’s irresponsible actions and urge it to observe the prohibition against military force under the UN Charter, she said.
China’s permanent mission to the UN on Tuesday condemned the “extreme minority” of signatory nations for “baselessly accusing China for taking legitimate measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
RSS