The central government yesterday expressed its deep regret and discontent with the International Criminal Police Organization’s (Interpol) rejection of its bid to attend the organization’s upcoming general assembly.
Asked if Beijing was behind Interpol’s decision, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) said “that is a very obvious factor.”
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) last night urged China to acknowledge the Republic of China’s existence and stop hurting the well-being of Taiwanese by obstructing Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
Photo: CNA
The government will continue to work closely with the US and other like-minded nations to promote Taiwan’s participation in Interpol, in the hope that Taiwan can be included in the global network for public security protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taiwan was forced to withdraw from Interpol in 1984 when China joined the organization.
For the first time in 32 years, the government last month applied to participate as an observer at Interpol’s 85th general assembly, which runs from tomorrow to Friday in Bali, Indonesia.
Interpol president Mireille Ballestrazzi and secretary-general Jurgen Stock separately wrote to Criminal Investigation Bureau Commissioner Liu Po-liang (劉柏良) stating the organization’s decision to turn down Taiwan’s application, the ministry said.
The ministry said that Taiwan’s bid to participate in the assembly does not involve politics, but is intended to facilitate cooperation with the police forces of other nations and contribute to global efforts against organized crime, cybercrime, cross-border crime and terrorism.
With cross-border crime becoming a serious problem amid globalization, having no access to Interpol information is posing a challenge to Taiwan’s crime-fighting operations, the ministry said, urging Interpol to deal with Taiwan’s case positively and pragmatically based on the need to maintain global security.
Considering the need to maintain security during next year’s Universiade in Taipei, the ministry has also requested that Interpol allow Taiwan to access its I-24/7 global police communications system and the Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database.
Meanwhile, the ministry said it appreciated the US’ support for Taiwan’s participation in the assembly.
Both the US Senate and House of Representatives in March passed legislation requiring the US secretary of state to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan in Interpol. The bill was then signed into law by US President Barack Obama.
Separately yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council urged China to stop obstructing Taiwan’s efforts to particiate in international organizations.
Taiwan and China should treat each other in a friendly way and seek to resolve differences of opinion through bilateral dialogue in the interests and well-being of their people, the council said.
A survey conducted by the council last month revealed that 80 percent of Taiwanese believe Taiwan’s bids to take part in international organizations should not be subject to political interference, the council said, urging Beijing and the international community not to ignore public opinion in Taiwan.
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
RSS