A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator said yesterday the party opposed the government’s plan to apply for “meaningful” participation in UN agencies.
DPP Legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) told a press conference yesterday that if the government applied to become a member of the UN’s 15 agencies, it would use the name “Taiwan region, the Republic of China,” which he said would seriously downgrade the nation’s status.
He said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approach to join international organizations would give the international community the impression that Taiwan is part of China.
The lawmaker said that while the former DPP administration had used a different approach in its UN bids, the Ma administration had changed the policy and only sought participation in agencies.
He said the new approach had confused the nation’s allies about how to help Taiwan in its bid during the General Assembly.
Pan said Ma’s weak approach could avert “angering” China, but it would seriously hurt the country, something Taiwanese would never accept.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was lobbying hard for the nation’s bid to participate in UN agencies, with a decision by the UN General Committee possibly coming as early as tomorrow.
“The ministry is paying close attention to the bid and is vigorously lobbying [for support],” ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told a press conference.
Chen refused to comment on the possible outcome of the latest diplomatic initiative, but said that how it plays out would be a barometer of the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as well as Taiwan’s international image and status.
With the General Committee scheduled to begin meeting at 10am today, ministry officials will stay up all night to closely monitor the situation, Chen said.
“We will have a comprehensive statement regarding the result of this year’s UN bid on Thursday morning,” Chen said.
The length of time spent debating the nation’s UN bid was considered by the DPP administration as an indication of how much the country’s efforts were valued in the international community.
The General Committee, which comprises delegates from 28 countries, will render its decision today on what will be put on the agenda for the 63rd UN General Assembly, which opened yesterday.
This year’s bid is also departs from previous efforts in other respects.
Three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — Nicaragua, the Solomon Islands and Honduras — are sitting on of the General Committee, the nation’s highest number of allies on the committee since 1993.
Taiwan has not been a member of the UN since 1971, after the People’s Republic of China took the China seat from the Republic of China.
Over the past 15 years, Taiwan has failed to get the General Assembly to list the issue of Taiwan’s membership on the agenda because of obstruction by Beijing.
Chen said that this year, the ministry had sent Lily Hsu (徐儷文), deputy director-general of the Department of International Organizations, and a senior ambassador to lead its lobbying team.
The team will continue to promote the bid to the very end, he said.
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