Visiting Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Penitala Teo criticized the UN’s exclusion of Taiwan as a “hypocritical” act during a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) in Taipei yesterday.
It was “hypocritical” of the UN to not include Taiwan and its people in its system even though the world body has championed “inclusivity” and “the principle of not leaving anyone behind,” said Teo, who arrived in Taiwan earlier yesterday for a five-day visit.
Teo said he had made “a very strong statement in support of Taiwan’s” participation in the UN system during this year’s UN General Assembly at the end of last month.
Photo: CNA
“As long as I’m in office, I and Tuvalu will continue ... the strong advocation in support of Taiwan’s participation and reintegration into the global system,” said Teo, who took office in February.
The Republic of China lost its seat at the UN as the People’s Republic of China became a member in 1971.
Lai thanked Tuvalu for its “staunch support” for Taiwan’s inclusion in UN mechanisms and pledged to strengthen collaboration with the Pacific island ally to tackle climate change, particularly the urgent issue of rising sea levels.
“Taiwan is also a maritime nation and it empathizes deeply with Tuvalu... Going forward, our nations will continue to respond to the challenges of climate change together,” Lai said.
At a separate meeting yesterday, Lai met with Saint Lucian Senate President Alvina Reynolds and House of Assembly Speaker Claudius Francis.
In meetings with the delegations from Tuvalu and St Lucia, Lai emphasized the shared values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, which he said had laid the foundation for their diplomatic alliances and bilateral ties.
“Taiwan will continue to promote values-based diplomacy” and “deepen cooperation with not only St Lucia, but also other democratic partners,” Lai told the St Lucian parliamentary leaders, who arrived on Monday for a five-day visit.
Reynolds said that their visit marked “a celebration and a reaffirmation of the deep diplomatic bonds that have existed between our peoples.”
Francis lauded Taiwan for “fostering growth and enriching the lives of all St Lucia” over the years through joint projects in the areas of healthcare, education, agriculture and infrastructure.
The collaborations served as “a testament to the enduring bond of solidarity and shared values that unite us,” he said.
The Tuvaluan prime minister, accompanied by the nation’s top diplomat Paulson Panapa and other officials, and the St Lucian parliamentary leaders are among the guests invited to the official Double Ten National Day ceremony tomorrow.
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
RSS