Regardless of the name given to Taiwan's mission to the WTO in the trade body's new directory, its rights and obligations will not be affected, a WTO spokesman said yesterday.
Beijing is pressuring the WTO to downgrade the name of Taiwan's mission in the directory, which contains contact details, such as phone numbers, of WTO member states' missions in Geneva.
Noting that the directory has not been updated for three years, WTO chief spokesman Keith Rockwell said in a phone interview that differences between Beijing and Taipei that are delaying an update of the phonebook are "a political problem."
The problem, said Rockwell, is "beyond the scope of the WTO," but the WTO is trying to find ways forward and compromise regarding how to update the phonebook.
He stressed that Taipei's rights in the WTO "will not be affected," regardless of how the new phonebook will be presented.
He also dismissed speculation that China has threatened to block WTO Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi's possible appointment to lead a significant UN agency if he fails to yield to its demand to change the name of Taiwan's mission to the WTO in the directory.
Supachai's term of office as WTO director-general will expire on Aug. 31.
China wants to reduce the status of Taiwan's mission in the directory to that of Hong Kong and Macau, and remove all words containing sovereignty connotations from letters exchanged between the WTO and the mission, according to Taiwanese officials familiar with WTO operations.
China, which has vigorously sought to lower the status of Taiwan's mission, pressured Supachai to alter the name of the mission and its diplomats' titles by threatening to affect the official's chance to lead the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNITAD), sources said.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last month proposed Supachai as a candidate to head UNITAD. China, however, suggested that his possible appointment be suspended as Annan had not informed 77 developing countries of his selection of Supachai in advance, according to sources.
By threatening to block Supachai's possible assignment to lead UNITAD, sources said, China intended to compel him to yield to its demand to change the name of Taiwan's mission and its diplomats' titles in the new directory.
Rockwell, however, dismissed this as rumors.
"I have no reason to believe that is true," he said.
The official name of the Taiwan mission to the WTO in Geneva is "Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to the World Trade Organization."
China wants the WTO Secretariat to replace "permanent mission" with "office of permanent representative" in the directory, according to a Taiwanese official, who requested anonymity.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (
The Swiss government has conferred the titles of "ambassador" and "minister," respectively, on Yen Ching-chang (
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
RSS