Six civic groups for young people launched a signature drive yesterday in support of a campaign initiated by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators to hold a referendum on participating in the UN and the WHO under the name "Taiwan."
The groups included the Taiwan Young Democratic Union, the Taiwan Young Intellectuals, the Ketagalan Academy alumni association and the Taiwan Youth Citizens' Association.
Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), president of the Ketagalan Academy alumni, said young people should recognize that Taiwan would not be able to join the international community if the nation did not take the initiative to correct its title.
sole representative
Gao, one of the DPP legislators who initiated the referendum campaign, said "the Republic of China" is no longer recognized by the international community after the UN passed a resolution in 1971 recognizing the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China.
"We need to take immediate action to correct the national title and draft a new constitution, as this is the only way for Taiwan to gain UN membership," he said.
Peter Chang (
Chang, who formerly served as the health department's representative in Geneva, where the WHO's headquarters are located, shared with the groups his experience in Taiwan's bid for admission to the WHO.
difficult road
"During the two years I was in Geneva, I saw many answers [to how Taiwan could participate in international organizations], but each one of them was difficult for the nation [to carry out,]" he said.
Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), a former health minister, stressed the need, however, for the nation to persist in its quest for global membership.
"I am worried because if we don't continue to push for participation in the WHO and the UN, we will soon be regarded as China's associate member in the world," Twu said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it