The Presidential Office said yesterday that the government has finalized preparations for Taiwan's WTO accession.
Nevertheless, the office would not divulge who would be Taiwan's representative to the trade body.
A local Chinese-language newspaper reported that President Chen Shui-bian (
It is anticipated that Taiwan and China will both win WTO endorsement during the organization's fourth ministerial conference to be held Nov. 9-to-13 in Doha, Qatar.
Taiwan will see a Cabinet reshuffle following legislative elections on Dec. 1, possibly freeing Lai and Tsai for new appointments.
Other possible candidates for the post are former chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development Chiang Pin-kun (
The Taiwan staff at the WTO headquarters in Geneva will initially consist of about 30 people, the report said.
"It's still premature to talk about any personnel issues at this moment as our WTO entry procedures have yet to be finalized," said Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪), director-general of the Department of Public Affairs at the presidential office.
The report said the government has decided not to employ the WTO's "exclusive provision" against China after both sides are admitted to the organization, indicating that Taiwan would be able to settle its future trade disputes with China through WTO arbitration.
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (
The global trade body is expected to vote on Taiwan's admission on Nov. 11 and Taiwan will sign the accession accord the following day.
The vote on China's admission will take place on Nov. 10 and Beijing will sign its entry accord on Nov. 11. Its National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, will hold an extraordinary session the following day to endorse the accord.
According to WTO regulations, an applicant will automatically become a full member 30 days after its officially approved entry protocol reaches the WTO Secretariat.
Against this backdrop, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can become WTO members by mid-December at the earliest.
Government officials said the Cabinet is asking the Legislative Yuan to hold a special session on Nov. 16 to ratify Taiwan's accession accord. The legislature is currently in recess.
Officials, however, are in a dilemma regarding the timing of Taiwan's WTO admission.
"We are considering whether to join the WTO in mid-December or early next year," a ministry official said.
If Taiwan enters the WTO in December, the official said, it will see its grace period for tariff reductions or removal shortened by a year. If Taiwan waits until early next year to join the WTO, however, it may risk possible interference from China.
"Once China becomes a WTO member in mid-December, it may find fault with Taiwan's import restrictions on Chinese farm products and on direct cross-strait transportation services," the official said.
He added that such moves might jeopardize Taiwan's WTO accession.
The official said relevant government authorities will make a final decision on the issue before Minister Lin's departure to Qatar.
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