Former vice president Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) yesterday said that he would express Taiwan’s interest in taking part in the emerging Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the China-led regional financial institution, when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) today, according to a report.
Siew, head of Taiwan’s delegation to this year’s Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan Province, told reporters he is to meet Xi at 9:20am today, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Siew was quoted by the CNA as saying that Taiwan should be part of the AIIB and that he would “make a case for it whenever I have the chance to speak to China’s leaders.”
Photo: CNA
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) told Siew to declare Taiwan’s interest in the AIIB during a meeting on Tuesday, according to an interview with Ma by the Want Want China Times Group (旺旺中時集團) on Thursday.
Ma listed three reasons Taiwan should join the AIIB, but said that some issues might need to be discussed first, including in what capacity Taiwan would be admitted to the body, which requires statehood as a condition of membership.
Among the reasons Ma listed were that Taiwan could serve as a peacemaker and humanitarian aid provider in the international community, that taking part in the AIIB would be helpful to Taiwan’s bids to be part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and that working with China in its initiatives, supported by many other countries, would benefit cross-strait relations.
China has put making plans for the implementation of its “One Belt, One Road” policy, which it envisions, together with the AIIB, connecting China with countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe through construction of infrastructure projects, on top of the agenda of the four-day forum, which opened on Thursday.
With South Korea and Turkey announcing their bids to join the AIIB yesterday, the number of prospective members reached 37 before the Tuesday deadline set by China for countries to seek founding memberships.
China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Deputy Chairman Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中) told a cross-strait meeting in Taipei last month that the “One Belt, One Road” policy would open up a good channel for Taiwan’s investment, but the government said last week that Taiwan has not been invited to join the AIIB.
When Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) was asked by lawmakers about the government’s willingness to apply to join the AIIB on Friday last week, he said the government would carry out an assessment when it was invited to do so.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) yesterday said that Taiwan would seek to join the AIIB on the condition that it receives dignified treatment.
“We are expressing our interests, but we will not accept any degrading arrangements in terms of the way we would be allowed to participate, in what capacity, in how Taiwan is treated and our designation. We’ll deal with these issues through negotiation,” Lin said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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