The Ministry of Foreign Affairs late on Friday issued a statement reiterating that the government would work closely with the international community to sanction North Korea, while keeping close contacts with Washington on the matter.
The statement followed the announcement of new sanctions imposed by the US against entities linked to North Korea, including a Taiwanese national and two companies.
US President Donald Trump announced during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference that the US Department of the Treasury would impose the largest-ever sanctions package against North Korea in a bid to force Pyongyang to give up its ambitions of developing nuclear weapons and to ensure regional and global security.
Photo: Lu Chun-wei, Taipei Times
Following Trump’s announcement, the department released a list of one person, 27 companies and 28 ships from Taiwan, North Korea, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The sole individual facing sanctions was identified as Taiwanese Tsang Yung-yuan (張永源).
“Tsang has coordinated North Korean coal exports with a Russia-based North Korean broker, and he has a history of other sanctions evasion activities,” the department said in a statement.
The ministry said that as a member of the international community, the Republic of China has made significant efforts in the past few months to implement sanctions against North Korea.
It called on people in Taiwan to not breach any sanctions imposed by the UN against Pyongyang by conducting financial or commercial activities, warning that they would face punishment.
Taiwan will continue to honor its commitment to apply diplomatic and economic pressure on Pyongyang, the ministry said, adding that it hoped the nation would serve as a model in the international community.
Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) yesterday said prosecutors have launched an investigation into Tsang and the two Taiwanese firms about their actions that allegedly breached international sanctions against North Korea.
‘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 &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS