Taiwan and China will not make considerable progress in advancing their relations if China continues to confine Taiwan’s international space, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said yesterday as he vowed to make sure the message is received by China.
Yang made the remarks when fielding questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) at the legislature.
Displaying a letter addressed to Richard Reiss, president of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), from the president of SRA-China, Huang Chongfu (黃崇福), dated June 7, Kuan said it was solid evidence of Beijing being behind repressive moves by Chinese non-governmental organizations against Taiwan’s presence in the international community.
“Today I received an official warning notice that SRA-China has touched the red line of the Taiwan question — there is only one China in the world, of which Taiwan is an inalienable part ... Only on the premise of adhering to the principle of one China and in the light of the nature and statutes of the international organizations concerned, as well as the specific circumstances, can the Chinese Government consider the question of Taiwan’s participation in the activities of such organizations and in a manner agreeable and acceptable to the Chinese Government,” the letter read in English.
Huang said in the letter that he has “to ask SRA to adjust its policy toward Taiwan” with the following suggestions — replace “Taiwan” with “Taiwan, China” in official documents, send SRA-China an official declaration to confirm that “Taiwan Chapter” is a part of SRA-China or withdraw Taiwan’s membership.
Later yesterday, Reiss was quoted by Central News Agency as saying in an e-mail that Taiwan’s status “has not changed since it was formed.”
He said Taiwan is in fact classed as a regional organization under SRA bylaws that “do not require us to take any position on disputes regarding sovereignty.”
Kuan said even though there has been no change in classification, its position has been shifted in a way that denotes degradation. Taiwan used to be positioned with Japan, she said, but now it has moved down the list to be next to cities such as Philadelphia and New York.
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