The Government Information Office (GIO) yesterday said a videoconference between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) will be held outside the UN building in New York as a result of "China's obstruction."
"It seems as if the meeting will have to be held outside the building," GIO head Lin Chia-lung (
The videoconference was originally planned to take place in the association's clubroom inside UN headquarters.
Lin, who could not confirm the new venue, said China had pressured the UN into blocking Chen's videoconference, though it was not immediately clear how this was achieved.
"It shows how much China is lacking in confidence," Lin said.
The one-hour videoconference is expected to start at 10:30pm today Taiwan time.
UNCA president Anthony Jenkins had earlier insisted that the association would be firm in adhering to the principle of press freedom and would proceed with the meeting at UN headquarters despite Chinese and UN attempts to block it.
Jenkins earlier said that association members were prepared to defy the UN's attempt to block the meeting. It was not clear why this was no longer going to take place.
The UN secretariat said that the UNCA's plan to hold the videoconference inside the UN headquarters would violate the UN Resolution which recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China at the UN. It suggested that the association hold the teleconference somewhere else.
Anticipating obstruction from Beijing, Lin had earlier said it was highly possible that the teleconference would be forced to take place somewhere else.
The meeting will coincide with the introduction of a resolution by 26 countries that Taiwan's application to join the UN be put on the agenda.
Taiwan is launching its 12th bid to enter the UN as the 59th UN General Assembly commences its plenary session.
The third world congress of the Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace (GADP), an overseas Chinese organization, will be held on Sept. 14 in New York, the same day of the opening of the 59th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly, organizers said on Monday.
Taiwan's bid to join the UN is expected to become a key issue on the congress agenda, according to organizers.
Keynote speakers at the congress will include Jenkins and Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (
Andrew Hsia (
Hsia called China the sole obstacle blocking Taiwan's participation in the international community, saying its relentless campaign to isolate the nation was clearly demonstrated of late.
He cited an incident in which stamp designs issued for the International Day of Peace by the UN Postal Administration excluded a painting by a Taiwanese finalist because the flag of the Republic of China appeared on it.
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