The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) yesterday denied media speculation that it was trying to suspend the operations of the Taiwan-Tibet Exchange Foundation (TTEF).
The foundation was created in 2002 under the Democratic Progressive Party administration with more than 70 percent of its funding coming from the government. The organization’s main task is to provide humanitarian assistance to exiled Tibetan communities and facilitate contact between the Taiwanese government and the Tibetan government in exile.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported on Sunday and yesterday that TTEF operations have been suspended since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government took office last year.
TTEF vice-chairwoman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was quoted as saying that the commission “left the TTEF to rot” after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in September that the timing was not appropriate for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan.
Foundation board member Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌) was quoted as saying that the government had “prompted” the foundation to cease its functions out of fear that contacts between Taiwan and the exiled Tibetan government might upset China.
The MTAC denied that this was the case.
“The MTAC notified the TTEF in November last year that the government would like to appoint new board members representing various government agencies such as the Presidential Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mainland Affairs Council, the Council of Agriculture, the Department of Health and the MTAC,” the MTAC said in a press release yesterday.
“However, the TTEF secretariat continued to deliver board meeting invitations to board members appointed by the previous administration, which made it impossible for the newly appointed board members representing the government to attend the meetings,” it said.
As a result, a board meeting to elect new members never took place and the lack of legitimate board members led to the suspension of the TTEF’s operations, the MTAC said.
“While it’s an established practice for the deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office to serve as the TTEF secretary-general, the [current] TTEF secretary-general did not hand over office after the change of government,” it said.
TTEF secretary-general Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rebutted the commission’s accusation and accused it of technically blocking the foundation’s operations.
“It’s illegal for the government to just ‘appoint’ new board members — they have to be elected by the board of directors,” Lin told the Taipei Times by telephone. “According to proper legal procedure, the new board of directors is only legitimate if the new members are elected by the outgoing board.”
“But the MTAC is not allowing that to happen — it’s using its influence to tell board members affiliated with government organizations not to attend meetings,” he added. “I think the MTAC is trying to suspend TTEF operations until the government’s attitude toward the Tibetan government in-exile becomes clear.”
Lin said many of the TTEF’s ongoing humanitarian aid projects have been halted, “so we do hope the MTAC will allow the TTEF board to complete the required procedures to resume operations.”
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS