Twelve of Taiwan's allies have submitted a proposal to the World Health Organization (WHO) to include Taiwan's bid for observer status on the agenda of the health body's annual summit in Geneva next Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The General Committee of the World Health Assembly (WHA) must discuss whether to add Taiwan's application to the agenda now that at least one member has proposed it, ministry spokesman Richard Shih (
Japan has promised to follow the US' lead and back Taiwan's bid, but Gary Lin (
Nevertheless, Lin said it was possible some of the 10 ASEAN member states would display a "neutral stance" concerning Taiwan's bid.
While ASEAN nations all adhere to the "one China" policy, some of them may not vote against Taiwan's application and some may withdraw from key sessions in the summit, according to Lin.
Most of Taiwan's allies in Latin America have pledged to speak for Taiwan's bid, the ministry reported in a legislative question-and-answer session yesterday.
Javier Hou (
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (
Jich Wen-chich (
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi (
"We still don't know who will be leading the Chinese delegation this time," Jich said.
Noting that all of Taiwan's allies will vote for the country's bid in the WHA, Jich said it was still difficult to calculate how many countries may vote in favor of Taiwan.
Five legislators and the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan, a long-time private lobby group for the country's WHA bid, will be departing for Geneva for the assembly tonight.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Bill Sun (
The legislative group and other members in the Taiwanese delegation will need to apply for permits to listen to the assembly proceedings in the public gallery.
"We are not sure whether we will be granted the permits," Sun said.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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