A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker yesterday urged the government to demand an apology from Costa Rica -- one of Taiwan's allies -- for opposing the nation's bid for WHO membership.
The World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making arm of the WHO, on Monday adopted a motion -- following a vote of 148 to 17, with two abstentions -- to strike the issue of Taiwan's membership off the agenda.
Of Taiwan's 24 diplomatic allies, Costa Rica was the only one to vote in favor of the motion, while the six others were either absent from the session, abstained or had no voting rights.
Raising the issue during a meeting of the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Compatriot Affairs Committee, KMT Legislator Lee Chi-chu (
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it found Costa Rica's unfavorable vote against Taiwan regrettable.
Chen Hsin-tung (陳新東), deputy director-general of the ministry's Department of Central and South American affairs, said Vice Foreign Minister Hou Ching-shan (侯清山) had instructed Taiwanese Ambassador to Costa Rica Wu Ming-kuang (吳明廣) to voice Taiwan's concern.
"Miscommunication was the main reason [behind Costa Rica's vote]," Chen told reporters during a weekly briefing yesterday, saying that Costa Rica's ambassador to Geneva had just left Switzerland and his successor has not yet arrived to take over the post.
Carlos Garbanzo Blanco, Costa Rica's representative at the WHA meeting, did not understand the situation and hence cast a vote in opposition to Taiwan, Chen said.
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