Taiwan's name was yesterday removed from a Web site listing the countries that have recognized Kosovo after the site was bombarded with e-mails. This came a day after Kosovars expressed their appreciation for Taiwan's recognition of the newly declared independent country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday issued a statement congratulating Kosovo on its independence.
"The [Taiwanese] government is delighted that the people of Kosovo have the fruits of independence, democracy and freedom to look forward to. May Kosovo enjoy a bright and prosperous future," the statement said.
China has said that Taiwan does not have the right to recognize Kosovo.
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
Around 10am yesterday morning, Taiwan had been added to a list of "countries that have recognized or announced the recognition of the `Republic of Kosova'" at www.kosovothanksyou.com. The list included the names of 17 other countries. The site is not affiliated with the Kosovar government, but a government Web site links to it.
The words "xie xie" (
At 3pm, the spelling had been changed to "sie sie" and then "hsieh hsieh." Both are Romanizations of the Mandarin for "thank you," one in the Tongyong system and the other in Wade-Giles.
Tongyong is the official Romanization system used by the government, which has abandoned the Wade-Giles system.
However, Taiwan was removed from the list of countries at around 4pm. Along with the removal, the Web site briefly posted a note saying that the Web master had been bombarded with e-mails from both Taiwan and China expressing concern about having Taiwan on the list, and therefore the site decided to include only UN member states on the list.
The Web master had not responded to the Taipei Times' request for comment via e-mail as of press time.
Meanwhile, the Central News Agency reported on Tuesday that Taiwan's official recognition made the headlines in the Kosovar newspaper Kosova Sot.
People in the capital, Pristina, did not hesitate to express their appreciation when they ran into Taiwanese on the street, the report said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source