China is certain to make a last-minute attempt to impede Taiwan's entry into the WTO during the ministerial meeting set to begin this Friday in Qatar, according to Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義).
In an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times, Lin said "there surely will be actions taken by the PRC to interfere with Taiwan's WTO entry ... they have done it in the past and they will likely do so this time."
Taiwan is poised to gain admittance to the WTO after an 11-year bid at the meeting in the tiny Gulf state on Sunday, just one day after China's accession documents are scheduled to be approved.
While China is powerless to affect Taiwan's entry bid until it becomes a member -- which is 30 days after its legislature ratifies its WTO free-trade commitments -- Lin fears Beijing could pressure its allied members to speak out against Taipei's bid.
"China's allies could speak of things harmful to Taiwan's entry at the meeting, such as the `one China' policy, or that we should join following the model of Hong Kong and Macau," Lin said.
Both Hong Kong and Macau first joined GATT, the predecessor to the WTO, as separate customs territories. They requested "of China" to be added to that official title after control over the former colonies reverted to Beijing in 1997 and 1999 respectively.
Through documents submitted in July last year to its WTO working party, China sought unsuccessfully to have Taiwan reclassified as a "customs territory under Beijing's control."
Lin's fears appear to be justified as Zhu Bangzhao (朱邦造), China's foreign ministry spokesperson, said yesterday that while Beijing would not obstruct its membership bid, it had discussed with "related parties that Taiwan should join the WTO as a special customs territory of China," according to the Central News Agency.
However, according to a senior European-based trade official, China will not be permitted to sign its formal accession documents until Taiwan's entry documents have been accepted by the ministerial meeting, which will come one day later.
Prepared for such last-minute power plays by China, Taipei is taking no chances.
"We will assume China will do something and are ready for the worst," Lin said.
Taiwan has already approached its diplomatic allies who are already members of the WTO to speak out for them in the event China attempts to interfere with its entry, Lin said.
Taiwan has official diplomatic relations with 28 countries, including Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras, who are also members of the WTO.
Additionally, Taiwan still has an opportunity to use a special clause of the WTO agreement -- known as Article 13 or the "exclusion provision" -- that will exclude China from the free-trade benefits offered to all other members.
"We do not rule out the use of the `exclusion provision' as a counterbalance. This is a leverage and we may employ the provision any time before entry, if necessary," Lin said.
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