The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday confirmed the existence of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between China and the WHO in 2005, contradicting comments by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) a day earlier.
The existence and content of the MOU have been discussed publicly on numerous occasions by MOFA and its Chinese counterpart, but on Monday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) raised eyebrows by saying he could not be certain that the document existed because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) “was not in power in 2005.” He challenged the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration’s claim that the document was signed to limit Taiwan’s participation in the organization.
“We are uncertain whether China signed an MOU with the WHO, but we don’t wish to see any such documents. However, we have heard about the signing of this secret MOU. But because [the KMT] was not in power at the time, we have no way of finding out,” Ma said in an interview with Taiwan’s China Television.
But MOFA Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told the Taipei Times last night that the ministry’s position on the matter was clear.
“They signed the MOU, but we have never recognized it or acknowledged its power to restrict our interaction with the WHO,” he said. “As an independent sovereignty, we have been protesting this since 2005.”
Ma’s comment ignored past press briefings, annual reports and interviews in which both MOFA and the Department of Health (DOH) have recognized that the MOU exists. A Central News Agency (CNA) report last month quoted Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) as saying the 2005 MOU had restricted the participation of Taiwanese health experts in WHO-related activities.
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs has also published on its Web site a facsimile of what appears to be a WHO document titled “Implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding Between the WHO Secretariat and China.”
Asked whether the Ma administration was persisting in its protest to the WHO over the document, Chen reiterated that the government did not recognize its validity.
Regardless of whether an MOU was signed, it has no power to restrict anyone, he said.
“MOFA has never cared whether China and the WHO signed an MOU or not. By definition, an MOU is between the two signatories, so why should [Taiwan] concern itself about it?” he told the Taipei Times.
“If we are not restricted in any way, we should just ignore it because it literally does not exist or have any efficacy. Why do you want to bring it up?” he said when contacted again for further comment.
Chen said the WHO’s inclusion of Taiwan in the International Health Regulations (IHR) in January and its invitation of the country to the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer showed that Taiwan’s participation had not been constrained.
Chen said an MOU between two parties does not constrain a third party, but if it does, the third party will refuse to recognize it. Taiwan has never recognized the MOU, he said, adding that he had never seen it.
Chen also said yesterday that Taiwan’s accession to the WHA as an observer was the fruit of direct consultations with the WHO.
On April 30, a CNA report quoted WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham as saying “the WHO was not involved at all” in Taiwan’s accession to WHA this year.
At the time, the Taipei Times contacted Chen for comment, who said the ministry would not comment without verifying the report.
Yesterday Chen declined to comment on the matter again, saying the ministry was still verifying Abraham’s remarks.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS