A group of lawmakers will leave for England and France today in a bid to seek support for the nation's attempt to join the WHO.
"We'll endeavor to seek their support for our bid," said DPP Legislator Parris Chang (
Efforts to gain membership of WHO began in 1997, with the focus in recent years on obtaining observer status at the WHO's top decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA).
The bid was given a boost last year when both the US and Japan voiced their support for WHA observership, although European countries including France and Spain voiced reservations.
KMT Legislator Chiang Yi-wen (
Lawmakers also said the British are paying special attention to the delegation's visit in view of a recent resolution in the Legislative Yuan calling for a one-year ban on sales of alcoholic beverages by British Diageo PLC.
The legislature passed the non-binding resolution last month after the British company launched a Smirnoff ad campaign in London that lawmakers say damaged Taiwan's image.
Diageo has formally apologized for the controversial campaign and has placed new ads in London which focus on a positive image of Taiwan.
"We'll see how to best handle the case," Chang said.
KMT Legislator Sun Kauo-hwa (孫國華) said the London trip has gained "special" significance now that both members of the House of Commons and the Foreign and the Commonwealth Office (FCO) have agreed to meet with the delegation.
Donald Anderson, chairman of the parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, and Martin O'Neill, chairman of its Trade and Industry Select Committee will meet with the delegation, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sir Nicholas Winterton, co-chair of the British Taiwan parliamentary group, will also receive the delegation, the ministry said, while some FCO officials are also scheduled to meet with the delegation informally.
However, the delegation will not visit the French parliament because it is in recess, lawmakers said.
The delegation also includes DPP Legislator Hilo Bi-him (
The delegation will visit think tanks in England and Paris, including the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, lawmakers said.
Meanwhile, Martin O'Neill is slated to arrive in Taipei on Feb. 18 for a four-day visit.
The foriegn ministry said that during his stay O'Neill will meet with Legislative Yuan Vice Speaker Chiang Ping-kun (
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS