Fifteen of Taiwan's diplomatic allies have put forward a motion at the UN urging the world body to deal with Taiwan's membership application according to established procedures, Taiwanese officials stationed in New York said on Wednesday.
The motion, which the allies said they hoped would be included on the agenda of the upcoming annual gathering of the UN General Assembly, was submitted on Tuesday by the ambassadors to the UN from Gambia, Swaziland and Tuvalu -- three of the motion's sponsors.
The other sponsors of the motion were Belize, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Kiribati, Malawi, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Solomon Islands.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The 62nd regular session of the General Assembly is scheduled to open on Sept. 18 at the UN headquarters in New York. The General Committee is expected to meet on Sept. 19 to finalize the agenda of the session.
Taiwan has tried without success to re-enter the UN since 1993. This year marks the first time it has changed tactics by bidding to join the world body under the name of "Taiwan" rather than "the Republic of China."
President Chen Shui-bian (
On July 31, Chen sent a second letter to Ban urging him to reconsider his decision and one to Wang Guangya (
Taiwan has strongly protested Ban's move, claiming that only the Security Council and the General Assembly have the authority to review and decide on membership applications and that the UN Secretariat does not have the power to decide on such matters.
Taiwanese officials have argued that Resolution 2758 neither grants China the right to represent Taiwan at the UN nor addresses the status of Taiwan.
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