Despite China's audacious political maneuvers, Taiwan has managed to change its national title at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) from "Taiwan, China" to "Taiwan."
"Due to China's pressure and maneuvers, our group members at the IACP were forced to change the name of their country of origin from the `Republic of China' to `Taiwan, China' in November, 2001," said a Cabinet official who asked not to be named.
"The use of our national flag was also denied at all occasions," he said.
To voice the nation's utmost displeasure with China's audacity, the official said that the Cabinet ordered a boycott of the organization's annual conference in 2002 and filed a letter of protest.
After months of haggling and negotiations, members finally managed to change the national title and the use of national flags was restored during the IACP's last annual conference in Philadelphia in October last year, the official said.
"We've been keeping a very low profile in a bid to avert any further unnecessary hassles from China," the Cabinet official said.
Founded in 1893, the IACP is the world's oldest and largest non-profit organization of police executives. The organization has over 19,000 members and its membership now represents 101 countries.
The organization holds observer status with the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, and consultative status with the UN.
Taiwan joined the IACP in 1985, one year after the nation was elbowed out of Interpol by China in September, 1984 when China became a member state.
Established in 1923, Interpol's headquarters was located in Vienna and comprised of the General Assembly, the Executive Committee, the General Secretariat, the National Central Bureaus, and the Advisers.
The headquarters of Interpol moved to Paris, France in 1946 and then relocated to Lyons in October, 1989, where it remains to this day. The number of its member states has reached more than 181.
Taiwan joined Interpol in 1961 and formed the Criminal Investigation Bureau under the National Police Administration in 1979.
Despite the upsetting withdrawal from Interpol, the Criminal Investigation Bureau is still in close contact with the organization.
Interpol's fundamental role is to facilitate communication, which is accomplished by fostering a continuing exchange between countries and circulating new messages, memos and notices on a daily basis.
According to Chris Chang (章文正), International Criminal Affairs Division chief of the Criminal Investigation Bureau under the National Police Administration, the administration is a member of two international organizations: the IACP and the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police (IAASP).
The IAASP was formed in 1969 as a non-governmental and non-profit association. It is registered in the province of British Columbia, Canada and Washington state in the US.
The organization is dedicated to bringing together representatives of police administrations, other enforcement agencies and sectors of the transportation industry involved in the movement of cargo at airports and seaports around the world.
The association has served in a consultative capacity with the UN, the US Senate and the Canadian Ministry of Transport as well as other organizations.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS