The US, which has been quiet as China forced international organizations and conference hosts to change the name of Taiwanese delegations, should be more balanced in its treatment of Beijing and Taipei, an academic said yesterday.
The US State Department said on Monday that President Chen Shui-bian's (
But the move actually has little effect, as China has altered Taiwan's status on various international occasions, said Lo Chih-cheng (
"China often asked hosts of international conferences to change the name of teams from Taiwan. It is an obvious attempt to change Taiwan's status, but the US has not cared much about this. We need to urge Washington to not apply a double standard to Taiwan and China," Lo said.
Negotiations with other countries regarding name changes to Taiwan's representative offices used to be an extremely low-key affair. After Chen publicly pledged to launch the policy, Beijing may use the opportunity to tell countries that accepting Taiwan's name-change proposal amounts to supporting Taiwanese independence, Lo said in an interview.
After the US voiced opposition to Chen's name-change plan, senior officials of the Presidential Office quickly explained it had nothing to do with Taiwanese independence, but is merely a policy to highlight the entity of Taiwan.
On the domestic side, the name changes will involve at least 27 government-affiliated agencies belonging to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ministry of Education and Ministry of the Interior.
On the diplomatic front, the overhaul of the various names used by Taiwan's 119 overseas offices and missions will be a highly politically sensitive and time-consuming task. No one knows when it can be completed, even though Chen vowed to finish the job in two years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the government's two favorite names for its overseas representative offices and missions are the Republic of China (ROC) and Taiwan.
Currently, 38 of the country's overseas offices adopt the ROC in their official titles.
They include Taiwan's 27 embassies, three consulate-generals -- in Paraguay, Honduras and Panama, and commercial offices in Ecuador, Bolivia, Fuji, Papua New Guinea, Nigeria, Bahrain, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
"Taipei" is used in the titles of 81 of Taiwan's overseas representative offices, while the country's missions in Hong Kong, Macau, Okinawa and at the World Trade Organization (WTO) use names that almost conceal which country they represent.
The "Sino-Ryukyuan Cultural & Economic Association Ryukyu Office" stands for Taiwan's mission in Okinawa, and the country's representative office at the WTO is called the "Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu."
Name changes of the offices are not a new idea, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) said. "We had been working toward this when we were in the US," he said, referring to his decades-long political activities in America.
"Now he [President Chen] has announced the goal. We have to implement his policy," the minister said.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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