The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed regret over the US' decision to drop a resolution condemning Beijing's human rights record this year at the UN Human Rights Commission.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (
Kau made the comments after New Party Legislator Lai Shih-pao (
UNDER PRESSURE
"The US said it would not introduce a resolution criticizing China's human rights record at the UN. It is [US Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice's gift to Beijing. It is strange that MOFA has so far said nothing on the matter," Lai said.
Noting that the ministry has communicated with the US on the issue, Kau said Washington's decision was regrettable.
The Anti-Secession Law has caused great pressure on the people of Taiwan, Kau said, citing Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (
Formerly a staunch advocate of Taiwan's independence, Hsu published a retirement letter last Saturday voicing his support for the Anti-Secession Law and Beijing's "one China" principle.
Senior government officials close to Hsu, however, said Beijing had forced the businessman to reverse his political stance.
The international community responded positively to last Saturday's peaceful march in Taipei protesting against the Chinese law, Kau said.
Various overseas Taiwanese groups also held rallies on the same day to condemn the law.
However, according to Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator David Huang (黃適卓), Taiwan's representative to the EU, Chen Chien-jen (程建人), had dissuaded Taiwanese students in Europe from attending such rallies.
Huang said in the legislative session that Taiwan's representative offices in Holland, France and Munich had also asked Taiwanese students to stay away from such activities.
It is "not believable" that the country's overseas representative offices would prevent Taiwanese students from attending the rallies, Kau said, who nevertheless promised to look into the case.
To counter the impact of the Chinese law, Kau said the ministry planned to send delegations to the US, Japan and the EU next month to explain Taiwan's stance on the law.
DISCUSSIONS
The delegations will discuss with the US, Japan and European countries the EU's proposal to lift up its arms embargo on China and Taiwan's ninth bid to join the World Health Organization as the UN body holds its annual assembly in Geneva in May.
"Our delegates will strongly express Taiwan's opinions on how lifting the arms embargo will affect security in the Taiwan Strait," Kau said.
Kau said US officials suggested Taiwan would have more bargaining chips with China if it can reach unity within itself.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS