US President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill that requires the US secretary of state to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan in the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and other international groups.
“Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this act, the secretary shall transmit to [the US] Congress a report, in unclassified form, describing the United States strategy to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan in appropriate international organizations, including Interpol, and at other related meetings, activities and mechanisms thereafter,” according to the text of the new legislation.
The bill was sent to the White House for Obama to sign into law after it cleared the US House of Representatives and the US Senate earlier this month.
Photo: EPA
In Taipei, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau expressed gratitude for the US’ support, but it added that there is still a long way to go before Taiwan can participate in Interpol.
The bureau said that it would continue to make every effort to join Interpol at international meetings.
Being unable to participate in Interpol makes it difficult for Taiwan to directly obtain updates on information about transnational crimes, the bureau said, adding that the nation must rely on second-hand information provided by other countries.
Taiwanese police are not allowed to take part in training organized by Interpol, it said.
Taiwan was a full member of Interpol starting in 1964 through its National Police Administration, but lost its membership in 1984, when China applied to join the organization.
Taiwan has had trouble gaining membership or participating in many international organizations because of objections from China, which sees Taiwan as a renegade province and therefore ineligible for membership as a separate entity.
In an effort to help Taiwan join international organizations, the US also passed a bill that supports Taiwan’s participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which was signed into law by Obama in July 2013.
The head of Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration led a delegation to participate in the ICAO’s assembly as guests later that year, the first time Taiwan was invited to the UN specialized agency based in Montreal after the Republic of China lost its UN membership to China in 1971.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique