Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Santos Lopez has raised eyebrows in Taipei by referring to Taiwan as “China-Taiwan” in a statement to the 68th UN General Assembly on Monday in New York City.
According to the copy of his speech posted on the UN’s Web site, Santos Lopez said:
“Nicaragua continues to support the just aspirations of China-Taiwan for greater participation in the various organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations.”
Nicaragua is one of seven of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies who have spoken up for Taiwan during the assembly, which ended yesterday.
It is customary for the government to ask the 23 nations it has diplomatic relations with to speak in favor of enhancing Taiwan’s participation in the international community at the UN assembly to build up global support.
An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it is “a common practice” that the nation’s diplomatic allies use “China” as the designation for Taiwan, since to them, “China” stands for “Republic of China,” not People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The allies see Taiwan as the legitimate representative of “China” because they do not recognize the PRC government, the official said.
“Sometimes they just use ‘China’ in short, but they in no way mean to say that Taiwan is part of the PRC’s territory,” the official said.
The official said Nicaragua has been active in supporting Taiwan and bilateral ties remained solid.
Santos Lopez, who has been at the UN since October 2007, did not mention Taiwan when he addressed the past two annual meetings.
Saint Lucian Minister for External Affairs Alva Baptiste said that his country notes “the increasing mutual involvement of the peoples on both sides of the China Straits” and hopes that “this will lead to normal relations beneficial to all the peoples of the world.”
Baptiste also praised Taiwan’s attendance at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) triennial assembly.
“This can be an appropriate model for the further engagement of Taiwan in international organizations, thus permitting the country to play its role more effectively in global development,” he said.
The Taiwanese delegation was invited to the ICAO assembly as a guest of ICAO president Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez who said he extended the invitation “at the suggestion of the government of China.”
The delegation is using the name “Chinese Taipei Civil Aeronautics Administration.”
Meanwhile, Belizean Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Wilfred Elrington urged the “full participation” of Taiwan in the UN at the assembly.
Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga said his country continued to seek observer status for Taiwan at the ICAO and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas commended Taiwan’s efforts to advance the economic interests of countries like his own and said its participation in agencies would be meaningful.
The other allies that have voiced support for Taiwan at this year’s assembly are Paraguay, Palau, Kiribati and Burkina Faso, according to the UN Web site.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS