Taipei Times: What's the true meaning behind the establishment of a trade representative office in Ulan Bator, Mongolia and in Taipei, Taiwan?
Hsu Chih-hsiung (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Mongolia declared its independence in 1911 and gained independence through a public referendum in 1945.
Although the Republic of China had actually recognized Mongolia's independence in 1946, the KMT government, which embraced the "Greater China" mentality, claimed legitimacy and sovereignty over China, including "Outer Mongolia" as part of the nation's mainland territory.
The relationship between Taiwan and Mongolia experienced a tremendous breakthrough in January this year when the Mainland Affairs Council amended its administrative orders, which are based on the Statute Governing the Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例), to exclude "Outer Mongolia" from the statute's scope.
That means that because the Taiwan government recognizes Mongolia as an independent sovereign state, Mongolians, who are now considered foreigners, are required to have visas if they want to visit Taiwan.
TT: Despite the Mainland Affairs Council's changes to the statute, critics have argued that the Legislative Yuan should consider convening the National Assembly to discuss the constitutionality of territorial change and reach a legal solution to the Mongolia issue. What are your thoughts on this?
Hsu: I don't think such a move is necessary because the Constitution, which was enacted in 1946 and promulgated in 1947, recognized the independence of Mongolia after Mongolia gained independence through a plebiscite in 1945.
Although the Constitution does not clearly define the "existing national boundaries" and an interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices in 1993 failed to define the politically highly sensitive issue, the theory that the Constitution includes Mongolia in the ROC territory is flawed.
As both Taiwan and China recognize the independence of Mongolia, which has a seat in the UN, it's an undeniable fact that Mongolia is an independent sovereign state.
TT: Responding to recent calls to exclude Mongolia from China's territory in Taiwan's world map, the Ministry of the Interior has been mulling an amendment to an act requiring both civil and private sectors in charge of the production of world maps to obtain permission before publishing maps. What's the significance of having the bill pass into a law?
Hsu: As far as I know the interior ministry is thinking of abolishing such a requirement, which I think is the right thing to do.
Under the premise of publication freedom, I don't think the government should censor the production of any world maps, particularly after the 70-year-old Publishing Law was abrogated in 1999.
As the ministry's draft bill passes into law, official world maps will reflect reality in the future since the interior ministry has publicly announced that Ulan Bator is the capital of Mongolia instead of the Mongolian Province of China. The private sector, on the other hand, will enjoy more publication freedom.
TT: As the Cabinet is planning to downsize its 36 administrative entities to 23, plus four independent institutions, the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission is one of the administrative entities proposed to be dissolved. As the director of the commission, what do you think of the government's plan?
Hsu: Government restructuring, which is a universal phenomenon, is intended to make the government more efficient and internationally competitive. Japan ... has only 12 government administrative entities; it's obviously too much to have 36.
Although the commission is comparatively small in terms of people and annual budget, I think it's right way to go to have the commission dissolved, because it's not necessary to have one particular entity to take care of Mongolian affairs since we've recognized the independence of Mongolia.
TT: How do you plan to take care of the commission's personnel and businesses then?
Hsu: As the commission's annual budget is about NT$160 million, there're only 61 people on staff. A large part of the commission's people and businesses would be transferred to the Mainland Affairs Commission, and the remaining portion would go to the foreign affairs ministry.
TT: Let's talk about the importation of Mongolian labor. Although the Council of Labor Affairs has pledged to import Mongolian labors no later than the end of next year, some critics have argued that such a policy is not a good one because Mongolian labors are bound to encounter language problems and cultural differences. What do you think of the argument?
Hsu: I don't think language or cultural differences should pose any problem. Or if they do, there must be something we can do to resolve them.
Although Mongolians are not highly educated, most of them have at least completed their junior high school education and the illiteracy rate there is low. They're also very hard workers. South Korea, which also imports Mongolian laborers, has given high marks to them.
TT: Regarding the issue of bilateral tourism, some have said the establishment of trade representative offices will do little to help boost the two countries' tourism industries because airplane tickets are expensive and local transportation in Mongolia is inconvenient. What are your thoughts on this?
Hsu: The plane tickets are, indeed, not cheap and Mongolia-bound flights are sparse and time-consuming, which consequently results in the small number of Taiwanese tourists that visits Mongolia.
To turn things around, I think -- fundamentally -- Taiwanese people must start to realize that a meaningful sightseeing trip is not only about staying at a five-star hotel and dining at an upscale restaurant, but also about seeing exotic scenery, experiencing different lifestyles and appreciating the exotic history and culture.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS