The WTO members directory was at the center of a diplomatic uproar yesterday, as government officials accused the trade body of "throwing away its neutrality" under pressure from China.
The cause of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' anger was the unannounced removal of the titles of some Taiwanese officials from the newly released, updated version of the directory, which is essentially an internal address book for WTO members.
Only the top two officials at the nation's Permanent Mission to the WTO are identified by their titles, while all lower-ranking officials only have their names and areas of expertise listed.
PHOTO: WANG MING-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
"This is important because it shows a lack of respect for Taiwan and the dignity of its government," foreign ministry spokesman Michel Lu (
"It is a question of protocol," he said.
Lu noted, however, that the directory did not constitute a legal document and therefore had no practical effect on the status of Taiwan's mission to the trade organization.
Officials from the WTO Information and Media Relations Division in Geneva were not available for comment at press time last night.
When asked whether the Taiwanese government had uncovered any evidence that China had pushed for the changes in an attempt to downgrade the status of the permanent mission, Lu had a quick reply.
"Everyone is aware of the situation. If it's not China, then who is it?" he asked. "Although China has talked about its `goodwill' and helping Taiwan to take part in the international community, the truth is that over the last several years, Beijing has made an effort to squeeze Taiwan's diplomatic space."
Both Hong Kong and Macau's representative bodies are officially called "Economic and Trade Offices," Lu said, the same title that the WTO had previously asked Taiwan to use for its delegation.
"So I ask you: If not Beijing, then who?" he said.
The directory was printed earlier this month and was distributed last week, a statement from the ministry released yesterday said.
Taiwan's Permanent Mission was not informed of the changes in the directory until a day before distribution -- long after the directories had been printed, Lu said.
Taiwan's representatives have lodged verbal and written protests with the WTO Secretariat, the spokesman added.
The ministry previously accused the WTO Secretariat of urging Taiwan to downgrade its status in May 2003. On that occasion, the ministry claimed the secretariat had said that Taiwan's representative body at the organization should take on a status equivalent to Hong Kong's economic and trade office.
In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the WTO's move as "ignoring the principles of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization." It also said that the WTO should not allow itself to be threatened by any single member of the 148-member organization.
Taiwan and China joined the WTO in January 2002 under a deal in which Taiwan agreed that it would not be classified as a sovereign state, but rather as the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu."
The country's representative office is called the "Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu."
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