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
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard