Taiwan is “absolutely” not a province of China and the government would continue to protest the belittling of the nation’s sovereignty by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday.
Kolas made the remarks after the Control Yuan issued a news release about member Peter Chang’s (張武修) demand that the Cabinet ensure that relevant agencies take measures against the ISO’s “inappropriate” designation of Taiwan under ISO 3166 as “Taiwan (Province of China).”
The official name of the standard is “codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions.”
The ISO has since December 1974, when ISO 3166 was first published, referred to the nation as a province of China, Chang said.
Although the nation’s overseas representative offices have tried in vain to reconnect with the ISO, from which the nation withdrew in 1953, they are not to blame, given the international political climate, he said.
However, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has not endeavored to bring the nation’s standards in line with international norms, which has hampered the growth of the economy and the technology sector, Chang said.
The Cabinet should streamline interdepartmental efforts to revise the nation’s standards to conform with international standards, he said.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said that the ministry would duly convey the government’s stance on the nation’s sovereignty at international events.
Chang’s impression that the ministry has not worked hard enough to adhere to international standards could stem from the sheer number of products on the market, Tseng said, adding that the ministry would continue to streamline interdepartmental efforts to establish the standards.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS