The DPP legislative caucus yesterday showed outrage at China's blockage of the nation's bid to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer.
"Everyone in this country should tongue lash Beijing because it has silenced Taiwan's voice," DPP Legislator Chiu Chui-chen (
"The Chinese authorities have pulled out all the stops to exclude Taiwan from the UN health body while, in other issues, pretending to be the country's best friend," Chiu said.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP Legislator Lai Ching-te (
"The country suffered a similar setback when Beijing announced its new diplomatic ties with Nauru on the day that President Chen Shui-bian (
"This shut out should force the government to try and walk its own path," he said.
DPP Legislator Tang Bi-a (唐碧娥) said, "This is not an issue about politics but about human rights. China's objection to Taiwan's desire to join the international effort against SARS is scandalous."
Tang added that that the public should show its disgust over China's dirty tricks by boycotting Chinese products.
Earlier yesterday, the TSU legislative caucus also hit out at China's actions at the WHO.
The TSU said that Beijing's action was "dictatorial and shameless."
"The public should understand the nature of the Chinese government and stop harboring fantasies about China," the TSU legislative caucus whip, Chien Lin Whei-jun (
The TSU called for a condemnation by both ruling and opposition lawmakers over China's blocking tactics.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai