Amid misgivings over Taiwan's participation in next year's APEC meetings in China, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (
China is set to host the meetings next year, leading some to wonder whether China will block Taiwan's participation in the annual inter-governmental forum.
When asked how China would handle the issue, Tang said simply: "I have no clue why you've worried so much about the issue."
He said APEC's "established protocol" would be China's yardstick in handling related arrangements.
But when asked if China's President Jiang Zemin (
The Chinese foreign minister made the statement after the morning session of APEC's two-day ministerial meeting that began yesterday.
Taiwanese officials attending APEC's meetings pointed out pitfalls in Tang's statement.
"It's a bit self-contradictory. But it indeed depends on how you define the so-called `established protocol,'" said Andrew Hsia (夏立言), director-general of the department of international organizations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Taiwan and China were admitted to APEC in 1991, with the conditions that Taiwan be referred to as "Chinese Taipei," and Taiwan's foreign minister be blocked from any APEC meeting.
Taiwan's president, vice president, and premier were also forbidden to attend APEC's annual informal leaders' summit, which began in 1993 under the proposal made then by US President Bill Clinton.
The established practice regarding the summit was for the host country to send an invitation to Taiwan's president, then the president would appoint his special envoy to attend the summit on behalf of him.
Taiwan's foreign ministry has already started meetings to prepare for next year's APEC meetings given China's status as the host country.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue (章啟月) said in a press conference yesterday afternoon that China hasn't touched upon the issue over whether the nominal invitation to Chen would be sent via APEC's Secretariat.
APEC's Secretariat is currently headed by Zhang Yan (
Taiwanese legislators who attended the ministerial meeting as part of the official delegation -- including Parris Chang (
Meanwhile, as part of the sideline events of the APEC meetings, Jiang is scheduled to hold a summit with US President Bill Clinton at 5pm on Nov. 16.
It will be the last meeting between the two leaders before Clinton ends his current term as president.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source