GIO says no change for nation's name

Government Information Office (GIO) Director-General Arthur Iap (葉國興) reaffirmed yesterday that there has not been any change in Taiwan's official designation as the Republic of China.

Iap commented while fielding questions at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Sci-tech and Information Affairs Committee.

PFP Legislator Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) asked Yap about his views on former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) proposal to rename the country "Taiwan."

Yeh said he would not comment on Lee's opinion as everybody is entitled to freedom of speech.

But he stressed that the government's stance on the issue has never swerved, reiterating that Taiwan is an independent sovereign state whose official name is the ROC.

Chung, however, grilled Yap about the rationale behind changes in the names of official publications. For instance, Chung said, the GIO-published Free China Weekly and Free China Review have been re-named the Taiwan Weekly and Taiwan Review.

Yeh said the re-designation was carried out mainly for marketing needs.

"Mainland China is often referred to as China. If our official publications bear the word `China,' they could be mistaken as originating in mainland China," he said, adding that the re-designation is designed to protect the nation's interests and people's rights.

In related news, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) said yesterday it is impossible for the ministry to support any change in Taiwan's official designation.

Kau made the remarks while fielding questions at a meeting of the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee.

PFP Legislator Sun Ta-chian (孫大千) asked Kau about his views Lee's suggestion.

Kau said diplomatic policies are made in accordance with the president's decisions. It is also mandatory for the ministry to observe the Constitution, making it impossible for it to support such a change, he added.

KMT Legislator Kwan Yuk-noan (關沃暖) asked Kau whether the US government has expressed concerns about Lee's remarks. Kau said the ministry has not heard anything from Washington so far.