Taiwan’s delegation to the UN’s COP28 climate summit received “widespread support” from diplomatic allies and other countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Taiwan could not officially participate in conference events, because it is not a member of the UN, but it was able to make its presence felt, Roy Hsu (許柏逸), deputy head of MOFA’s Department of Treaty and Legal Affairs, told a briefing yesterday.
Attending again as an non-governmental organization observer under the government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan’s delegation, led by Minister of Environment Shieu Fuh-sheng (薛富盛), was active while in Dubai, Hsu said.
Photo: grab from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Press website
It held 46 bilateral meetings with representatives of the executive or legislative branches of the governments of 35 like-minded countries, as well as with two international organizations, to discuss topics such as climate change policy, 2050 net zero emissions targets, carbon pricing and energy transition, Hsu said.
The delegation also announced that it would contribute US$10 million toward establishing the Just Transition Fund with Taiwan’s four Pacific allies — the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu — to promote climate change adaptation, he said.
Meanwhile, support for Taiwan’s international participation was echoed by several countries or representatives, Hsu said.
Twelve of Taiwan’s 13 diplomatic allies and 42 parliaments sent letters to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell urging the global community to include Taiwan in negotiations and mechanisms related to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock spoke out on Taiwan’s behalf during the closing plenary session, even though Germany does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Hsu said.
COP28 was held from Nov. 30 to Monday last week in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The conference has been held annually since the first UN climate agreement was reached in 1992. It is intended to be a platform for governments to discuss and agree on policies to limit global temperature rise and adapt to impacts associated with climate change.
Taiwanese officials have taken part in the annual conference through the ITRI since 1995.
After the briefing, MOFA spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) was asked about criticism it received from Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈).
Upon returning to Taiwan, Wu accused MOFA of being mostly at fault for a legislative delegation she was part of being denied entry to official COP28 events.
She called MOFA the “ministry of broken diplomatic ties,” referring to Taiwan’s loss of nine diplomatic allies to China since the Democratic Progressive Party assumed office in May 2016.
Liu reiterated MOFA’s stance that Wu should blame China instead of her own government for Taiwan’s exclusion from major UN events.
He said the ministry warned Wu beforehand of the possibility that the lawmakers could be barred from the proceedings, and clearly stated that the main reason Wu and others might be denied entry was because she is a vice presidential candidate.
To show respect for Wu as a lawmaker, MOFA did not ask her to cancel their trip and planned contingencies in case her delegation was denied entry, he said.
The ministry has said that Wu’s attempts to politicize the trip led to the issue.
It said she ignored its advice to keep a low profile and avoid announcing plans to attend COP28.
MOFA called Wu’s criticism of the ministry “puzzling and regrettable,” adding that the Chinese government and its constant suppression of Taiwan was mainly to blame.
Wu’s accusations were criticized by fellow lawmakers who traveled to COP28 with her, as well as TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Ko publicly urged her not to blame MOFA for the incident.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant