President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday cast doubt on the existence of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) allegedly signed by Beijing and the WHO in 2005, challenging the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration’s claim that the document was signed to limit Taiwan’s participation in the organization.
“I’ve heard such an allegation, but there is no way for us to find out because we were not in power in 2005,” Ma said. “We don’t know whether such a document exists, nor do we want to see such a document exist.”
Ma made the remarks during an interview with the China Television Co (CTV, 中視) yesterday morning.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Emphasizing that Taiwan’s participation in the activities of UN specialized agencies was not only a political issue but also a human rights issue, Ma said Beijing would invite international pressure if it rejected the nation’s participation.
“Beijing keeps saying that it cares about the Taiwanese and that Taiwan is part of China,” Ma said. “What kind of care is it if it does not care about the medical rights of the Taiwanese?”
While some have criticized the annual application for WHA observer status, Ma said all participants in the WHA received annual invitations, whether they are considered countries, groups, WHO members or observers.
The WHO would be under a lot of pressure if it decided not to extend the invitation again next year because it was somehow upset with Taiwan, he said.
“Cross-strait relations would seriously backtrack if that was the case,” Ma said. “I don’t think mainland China would be that stupid.”
When asked what other international organization his administration would attempt to join after getting observer status at the WHA, Ma said the priority was to prove Taiwan’s worth in the WHA and that it would be “impractical” to seek accession to other organizations, such as the WHO.
“You must understand our success this year has a lot to do with our flexible, practical and low-key approach,” he said. “The key factors leading to that success are the efforts of the public and all political parties, the goodwill of China and strong support from the international community.”
Regarding the year-end elections, Ma said he would support candidates who won the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) primaries. He also urged Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-cheng (鄺麗貞), who lost Sunday’s primary, to respect the results of the poll.
While acknowledging Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei’s (周錫瑋) hard work, he urged Chou to aggressively promote his achievements.
Ma still remained tight-lipped about his intention to take over the chairmanship of the party, saying the public would find out next month.
On financial cooperation with China, Ma said he did not know exactly when both sides would sign the memorandums of understanding, but that it should happen soon.
Ma said the direction of the government’s economic policy was correct and that the recent boost in the stock market did not result from Chinese capital because none has been injected into the market as yet.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS