Taiwanese politicians should set aside their differences and agree on a united foreign affairs policy in order to safeguard the nation's diplomatic future, the chairman of the Taiwan Friendship Group at the European Parliament said yesterday.
Georg Jarzembowski, who is on his 11th visit to Taiwan, said after the "gun smoke" of the election has cleared, both the pan-blues and pan-greens should come together to formulate and define a "broadly based" foreign policy in an effort to gain the support of the nation's "powerhouse" friends, such as the US, Japan and the EU.
Jarzembowksi said the most important task for his group is to talk to the various parties to get their impression as to whether their opponents were cheating.
"We don't have any mistrust of the parties," he said.
His team are scheduled to visit two polling stations and the Central Election Commission today to monitor the vote-counting process.
EU OPPOSITION
When asked about the EU's opposition to the planned referendums on Taiwan's bid to join the UN, Jarzembowksi said he was aware of the two versions proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and he believed it was the right of the Taiwanese to determine how they wanted to be represented.
He said his group has initiated a motion at the European Parliament to support Taiwan's execution of the referendums. So far, over 100 parlimentarians have added their signatures to the motion, he said.
Jazermbowski also said the existing cross-strait tension is unlikely to be assuaged unless there is fresh dialogue between to the two governments.
He admitted, however, it would take much "patience" and time before a dialogue based on an equal footing would become a reality.
HONOR
Earlier yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) conferred an Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Jarzembowski to honor him for his contribution in enhancing the friendship between the European Parliament and Taiwan.
Chen expressed appreciation and gratitude to the European Parliament for its support in opposing the lifting of its embargo on arms to China, backing the nation's bid to join the WHO and in urging China to remove its missiles targeting Taiwan.
"I believe the reason the European Parliament has been very supportive of Taiwan is that Taiwanese share the same universal values as the Europeans, which are democracy, freedom and human rights," Chen said.
Jarzembowski said he sincerely appreciated the award because he has been urging the international community to recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan and has worked to improve relations between the European Parliament and Taiwan since he took up the position as head of the Taiwan Friendship Group of the European Parliament in 1999.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS