The US government does not support the UN's rejection of Taiwan's ratification of the UN convention on women's rights and plans to clarify the matter at an appropriate time, a US official was quoted as saying in a conversation with Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday.
Lu, who on Monday embarked on a 12-day visit to three of Taiwan's allies in Central America and the Caribbean, met American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt in San Francisco, where she stayed overnight.
Lu told reporters on the flight to the Dominican Republic that during her 40-minute conversation with Burghardt, she told him that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had rejected Taiwan's request to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, citing UN Resolution 2758 and claiming that the resolution states Taiwan is a part of China.
"This is a serious mistake," Lu was quoted as saying in a Central News Agency (CNA) report. "The US government will handle the matter in an active manner after Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US, has reported the matter to the State Department."
Officials attending the meeting said Burghardt told Lu that the US could not agree with Ban and that Taiwan could advertise the US government's stance that it does not support Ban's citing the resolution to reject Taiwan's ratification.
Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Minister Chang Fu-mei (
As Taiwan is an independent state, Chang said the government could consider taking the case to the international court.
According to the CNA report, Lu said that China had misled the world by claiming that UN Resolution 2758 asserted that Taiwan was part of the People's Republic of China (PRC), but in fact the resolution fails to mention anything about Taiwan or the Republic of China.
Resolution 2758 only affirms the representation of the PRC, but not that of Taiwan, Lu said, adding that Taiwan could have a chance of joining international organizations if it clarified the resolution to the international community.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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