The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has allegedly postponed all funding for groups of international academics who had applied to come to Taiwan to monitor the January elections, sources said yesterday.
In one case, a group of four academics from Australia that obtained approval more than a month ago was informed by officials at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canberra on Thursday that the grant would be postponed until late January, meaning that it would be made available only after the elections.
For that delegation, funding was to cover accommodation for four nights and five days through the Jan. 14 elections, as well as airfares. The members of the delegation were informed about the decision in writing.
According to one source knowledgeable of the affair, the decision came from “high up” at the ministry and “all delegations,” including those from the US and Europe, were also reportedly informed that funding deals were postponed.
The source said the ministry claimed it had been “deluged” with applications and did not have sufficient resources or funding to support them, and that rather than having to choose between delegations, it had opted for postponement.
The decision has given rise to speculation among some of the would-be delegates that the real reason behind the decision to postpone the visits is that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is nervous about the outcome of the elections and does not want to lose face in the presence of foreign observers.
Another source contacted for comment said that if the reason behind the decision to postpone the visits was a lack of finances or human resources, then the funding would have been canceled altogether rather than pushed back until after the election.
In response, ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) yesterday denied that the ministry had instructed its overseas missions to arrange visits for international election observers to the country after the election date.
“As a democratic country based on the rule of law, it is impossible that we would reject international election observers. The ministry welcomes election observers and is willing to provide administrative assistance,” Chang said.
Chang said that earlier this month, the ministry issued an instruction to its overseas missions setting out guidelines about invitations to election observers.
Because of budget limitations, the ministry would not invite extensive numbers of people from the international community to observe the election, but it did not ask that visits scheduled to observe the election be postponed indefinitely, he said.
In related developments, the Taipei Times has learned that efforts are ongoing in the US to have high-profile observers present in Taiwan during and after the elections. According to one of the individuals involved in those efforts, former US president Jimmy Carter has been approached to lead the delegation of “fair election observers.”
Carter’s office has yet to respond to the invitation.
Staff from Republican and Democrat members of the US Congress are also reportedly planning to send delegations to Taiwan to monitor the elections.
The potential US delegation, which is working closely with US representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, is also hoping the US will send carrier groups to patrol international waters west of Taiwan, as it has done during past presidential elections. It is hoped the patrol would last until May, when the new or re-elected president steps into office.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
RSS