Lawmakers spar over passports

The dispute over whether to print "Taiwan" in Roman script on the cover of ROC passports sparked a row in the legislature yesterday, with Taipei's unofficial ambassador to the US saying there's no harm in calling the country "Taiwan" in "informal documents."

Chen Chien-jen (程建人), the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Relations Office (TECRO) in Washington, was invited yesterday to report on Taipei-Washington relations at the foreign and overseas Chinese affairs committee.

During the interpolation session, legislators bombarded the seasoned diplomat with various questions ranging from the prospects for President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) visit to Washington and the prospects for the US to forge a free trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan, among others.

But even before the interpellation began, the committee meeting saw a chaotic dispute over the passage last week of a non-binding resolution recommending that "Taiwan" in Roman script be printed above "Passport" on the cover of the nation's passport.

The foreign ministry announced in January that "Issued in Taiwan" would be placed at the bottom of the nation's passport covers starting later this year.

KMT Legislator Sun Kuo-hwa (孫國華) questioned what he saw as procedural flaws with regards to the passage of the resolution, stressing that the resolution was only a series of non-binding recommendations.

He also warned the foreign ministry not to take the recommendations seriously, triggering protests from lawmakers that supported the resolution.

Opposition lawmakers such as Sisy Chen (陳文茜) and John Chang (章孝嚴) then asked the diplomat based in Washington to express his view on the thorny issue.

"I am glad that I am not the incumbent minister of foreign affairs so that I don't have to make the decision [on the issue]," the former foreign minister said.

While declining to directly comment on the issue, Chen added, "The mainland called us Taiwan, and so does the US as well as many other countries. So there is no reason why we shouldn't call ourselves `Taiwan' on informal documents."

On the probability of the president's visit to the US capital, Chen said the issue was complex and sensitive thus requiring wisdom and diplomatic skills to handle it.

"There is a difference between pushing for the issue and having the visit realized," Chen said.

Chen said the consensus reached between him and the US government was not to discuss the issue in public unless President Chen's visit to Washington could be realized.

On the possibility of forging a Taipei-Washington FTA, Chen Chien-jen pinpointed several factors that may impede progress, including Taiwan's ability to be WTO-compliant, lobbies by various interest groups in the US, as well as "the third party" factor, referring to China's obstruction.

As the US is currently negotiating with Singapore and Chile on forging FTAs, the progress in these talks would affect the US' willingness to seek possibilities to forge the agreement with Taiwan, Chen added.

"Singapore has been targeted by the US as the first Asian country with which the US would forge an FTA with. It is possible that the US will not make further contacts with us until its negotiations with Singapore are completed," Chen said.

The US-Singapore FTA talks have almost been completed, but there are still many issues to be overcome, according to Chen.