Taipei said yesterday that the WTO had allayed its fears concerning the impartiality of a Chinese judge appointed to its top court, which had threatened to turn into major international row.
"After candid and sincere negotiations with ranking WTO officials, we have been guaranteed that the WTO's rules would ensure the body's impartiality in resolving disputes," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (
Zhang Yuejiao (張月姣), a Chinese lawyer, was appointed as a judge on the WTO's Appellate Body on Tuesday after Taiwan dropped its objections.
Taiwan, which had expressed deep concerns over Zhang's impartiality, decided to "show some flexibility" on the matter as an "amicable solution" had been found, a statement by Taiwan's permanent mission to the WTO said.
Taiwan's opposition had resulted in a one-week suspension of the agenda for the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).
Sources in Geneva said that in the past week, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy and DSB chairman Bruce Gosper had repeatedly told Taiwan they would ensure that its rights and privileges continued to be respected and guaranteed by WTO rules and procedures.
Lamy sent a letter to Taiwanese Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (
Michael Wei (
"We have obtained what we sought, which is fair treatment," he said.
He said that despite the deadlock, Taiwan's concerns had received a great deal of attention by WTO members and that its positive attitude in trying to resolve the issue was roundly commended.
At the DSB meeting on Tuesday, where Zhang's appointment was approved, Taiwan's permanent representative to the WTO, Lin Yi-fu (林義夫), emphasized that no member of the Appellate Body, which issues rulings on key trade disputes, could prejudice the rights of any WTO member, sources said.
Lin said it would be unacceptable for a member of the Appellate Body to receive instructions from the government to which he or she is affiliated, sources said.
Meanwhile, representatives from more than 10 WTO members, including the US, the EU and Japan, stated their confidence in the impartiality of the Appellate Body and commended Taiwan for the flexibility it had shown in trying to resolve the problem.
A WTO statement said that Zhang would begin her four-year term on June 1.
Also appointed to the Appellate Body on Tuesday were Lilia Bautista of the Philippines, Jennifer Hillman of the US and Shotaro Oshima of Japan, the statement said.
Zhang is a professor of law at China's Shantou University. She is an arbitrator on China's International Trade and Economic Arbitration Commission and practices law as a private attorney.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do