The Voice of America (VOA) yesterday issued a statement apologizing for its recent incorrect report concerning the National Unification Council (NUC), which led to misunderstandings between Taiwan and the US.
The VOA, which is partially owned by the US government, posted the statement on its Web site and expressed its regret.
The VOA's correspondent in Taiwan filed a story on Feb. 27 saying that Presidential Office Secretary-General Mark Chen (
The report led US officials to issue a written statement on Thursday afternoon asking Taiwan to clarify that President Chen Shui-bian's (
In the VOA's statement on Saturday, it said that "in fact, the aforementioned two officials had not made this unequivocal statement, and the VOA's Chinese department apologized [for] any misunderstandings created by the report."
Asked by reporters yesterday for comment, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
Huang also confirmed that Taipei was not notified in advance before the State Department issued the statement endorsed by deputy spokesman Adam Ereli on Thursday.
When asked whether the government would protest to the American Institute in Taiwan about the State Department's statement, he said the US did not do anything wrong.
"The United States asked us to reiterate our stand. Diplomatically speaking, we cannot say that the United States is at fault because it was a false report by VOA that caused the confusion. Whether the VOA report caused a third party to protest or put pressure on the United States, we don't know," Huang said.
In other developments, Ereli reiterated on Friday that "it's important that Taiwan unambiguously clarify its position" with regard to the status of the NUC.
That call comes amid an ongoing semantic dispute over whether Taiwan's recent move to "cease the function" of the organization is equivalent to "abolishing" it -- and thus arguably breaks the Taiwanese government's pledge to maintain the status quo.
Ereli made the remarks when asked whether Huang's statements so far have fulfilled Washington's expectations for Taipei to "unambiguously affirm that the Feb. 27 announcement did not abolish the NUC, did not change the status quo."
"I don't really have more to add to the statement," Ereli said during a daily press briefing. "It's important that Taiwan unambiguously clarify its position."
Additional reporting by Chang Yun-ping
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS