The Presidential Office yesterday rejected allegations that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had struck a secret deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the country’s participation in the WHO.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said such a claim was “far from the truth” and that the matter required more negotiation.
Wang made the remarks in response to a report in yesterday’s Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper).
The report cited Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) as saying that the administration had come to an agreement with its Chinese counterpart stipulating that Beijing would issue a letter inviting the administration to participate in World Health Assembly (WHA) activities this year under the name “Chinese Taipei.”
Kuan said that China and the WHO signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2005 stipulating that all WHO-related communication with Taiwan must be cleared by Beijing first.
Though the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took pride in Taiwan’s inclusion in the International Health Regulations (IHR) this year, Kuan said that Taipei was listed as “a contact point in Taiwan” and that eight of Taiwan’s ports were listed under China as IHR-authorized ports, she said.
Wang downplayed the IHR controversy yesterday, saying that such occurrences were not uncommon since the Republic of China lost its UN seat. He believed the public would understand the country’s diplomatic difficulties.
Wang said his understanding was that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had taken steps in response to the situation and that the government would do its best on the issue.
Regarding the claim that Beijing would invite Taipei to participate in WHA activities, Wang said Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) had stated the country would not accept such an invitation.
Earlier yesterday, Kuan told a press conference: “The administration of President Ma is sacrificing Taiwan’s sovereignty to join the WHA as an observer, and the DPP will not accept this.”
She said the KMT and the CCP had reached agreements on four points: that Taiwan would consult with China and not with the international community on the WHA bid; that Taiwan would join the WHA under the title “Chinese Taipei” and not challenge the “one China” framework; that the WHA would review Taiwan’s observer status annually under the title “Chinese Taipei”; and that the WHO secretariat’s letters to Taiwan be delivered to Beijing.
Kuan said if the WHO invited Taiwan to join the WHA via Beijing as an observer this year, it would be like telling the international community that Taiwan is part of China.
“Taiwan’s bid for the WHA is a diplomatic matter, but the government has turned it into a cross-strait issue, which would give Beijing all the power to decide on Taiwan’s international activities,” she said. “Ma wants to make political capital with Taiwan’s entry to the WHA this year, but it might come at the cost of the country’s sovereignty and diplomatic rights.”
At a separate setting, DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said that China’s 2005 MOU with the WHO stipulated that Taiwan join the organization with the title of “Chinese Taipei” and that if the KMT government accepted such an arrangement, it would be tantamount to saying that Taiwan was part of China.
Asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) rebutted Kuan’s allegations, saying it was impossible for the government to have made any secret deal with China regarding the nation’s WHA bid.
Lin said the caucus believed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would push the nation’s bid with the conditions of “dignity, autonomy, pragmatism and flexibility.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS