President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) condemned yesterday China's repeated blocking of Taiwan's entry into the World Health Organization (WHO) as a "ruthless, impersonal and unreasonable" action.
"Ironically, China, known internationally as the black hole of epidemic prevention or control, has repeatedly prezvented Taiwan from entering the WHO and from cooperating with the international community on avian flu issues," Chen said.
"The ruthless, impersonal and unreasonable opposition from China has created a serious challenge for Taiwan to join any international organization. This includes entry into the WTO, in which Taiwan has failed nine times."
PHOTO: ICDF FILE PHOTO
Chen added that despite strong opposition from China, Taiwan would continue to actively participate in international affairs under the principles of "peace, democracy and continual progress."
Chen made the remarks during the inauguration ceremony of the International Health and Medical Cooperation Strategic Alliance (IHMCSA), an organization co-founded by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and the Nongovernmental Hospitals and Clinics Association, ROC. The alliance was formed to support the government's foreign relations efforts by providing medical services to the international community.
Chen said in his speech that the medical group formed in 1962, when it sent six doctors from military hospitals to Libya to help the country improve its medical skills and reform its medical organizations. The formation of the alliance, he said, is the best example of how non-governmental medical organizations can contribute to the government's humanitarian provision of aid to the international community and help Taiwan garner the support it needs to enter the WHO.
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS