The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the responses the US and EU made after Taiwan’s latest UN bid and said the public could expect more countries to follow suit by expressing their support in different ways.
In a statement posted on the official Web site of the US Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, the US reiterated its long-standing support for Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in UN agencies such as the WHO, saying “Taiwan’s inclusion would enable the international community to better address pressing global issues.”
In line with the US’ “one China” policy, the statement said: “The US supports Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is not a prerequisite, including in the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.”
“When membership is not possible, we are strongly in favor of arrangements that will allow the people of Taiwan to participate meaningfully in the activities of international organizations. We do not support membership for Taiwan in organizations that require statehood such as the UN,” it said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言) welcomed the US’ positive response.
The US statement was posted hours after the UN’s General Committee on Wednesday rejected a proposal to include Taiwan’s bid in the 63rd General Assembly agenda.
This year marks Taiwan’s 16th consecutive failure in its quest for UN representation since the China seat was taken over by the People’s Republic of China in 1971.
The US and the EU strongly disapproved of Taiwan’s bid for full UN membership last year, calling it “provocative and unnecessary.”
Taiwan this year sought nothing more than “meaningful participation” in the activities of the 16 auxiliaries of the UN.
Hsia said this was the first time that the US Permanent Mission to the UN has posted such a response on its Web site, although many major countries have expressed the same sentiment in private.
On the issue of the WHO, the US repeated the position it has taken since 2004 that it strongly supports Taiwan’s observer status in the World Health Assembly.
Meanwhile, the EU last night made a similar statement in support of Taiwan’s UN bid, hailing warming cross-strait relations and reiterating its “one China” policy.
The statement, issued by the Presidency of the EU Council, which is presided over by France at the moment, acknowledged Taiwan’s bid and said the EU “reiterates its support to Taiwan’s participation in specialized multilateral fora, especially where Taiwan’s participation is important to the EU and global interests, and it encourages both sides [Taiwan and China] to resolve this issue through dialog.”
“The EU especially hopes that concrete steps could be taken, through dialog between both sides [Taiwan and China], in order to enable the meaningful participation of the people in Taiwan in the implementation of the International Health Regulations,” it said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said