The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday it is trying to get the facts behind why Bangladesh recalled its ambassador to Beijing. A Bangladeshi official said on Wednesday the move was caused by a row over an agreement allowing Taiwan to set up an office in Dhaka.
"Ambassador Ashfaqur Rahman has been called for consultation to straighten things out, following reports of Taiwan opening a liaison office in Dhaka and to assess China's way of thinking at this stage," a Bangladesh foreign ministry official said.
The row started after Taiwan last month said it had been given clearance to open a liaison office in Bangladesh to provide visas and consular services.
The Bangladeshi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the controversy arose because the state-run Board of Investment gave the go-ahead to Taiwan without consulting the foreign ministry on the sensitive matter.
Bangladesh officially denied the existence of the Taiwanese office and stressed it recognized only Beijing, a major donor and military supplier to the South Asian country.
The foreign ministry official said Dhaka may send a special envoy to Beijing to show that "Bangladesh valued its traditional ties with China and firmly believed in a `one China' policy with Taiwan as its province."
The Chinese ambassador to Dhaka, Chai Xi, has met in the past few days with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Morshed Khan and Information Minister Tariqul Islam.
Gary Lin (林松煥), director-general of MOFA's department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said yesterday the ministry was trying to ascertain whether Bangladesh recalled its ambassador to Beijing to make routine reports or for other reasons.
The Taipei Representative Office in Dhaka officially opened on March 1, but the ministry would not say when the Bangladesh government would open its representative office in Taipei.
Asked whether Bangladesh's recalling of its ambassador would affect the operations of the Taiwanese office in Dhaka, Lin said the office has been functioning normally since its opening.
The ministry was waiting for the Bangladesh government's response because yesterday was a local Islamic holiday, Lin said.
"But we will pay close attention to the matter," he said.
"So far, the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Taiwan have been developing normally," Lin said.
He said Bangladesh once rebuffed China's intervention into its agreement with Taiwan to set up the office.
Bangladesh told China, which has absorbed massive amounts of Taiwanese investments over the years, that it should not hinder Taiwanese businesspeople from investing in its country, Lin said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS