Legislators across party lines yesterday questioned Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) about China’s rejection of Taiwan’s bid to be a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as the premier insisted that the government’s efforts were not entirely in vain.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Monday confirmed that Taiwan’s bid to become an AIIB founding member had been turned down. The Ministry of Finance then released a statement saying that the AIIB Multilateral Interim Secretariat affirmed that the rejection at this stage would not hinder Taiwan’s future bid to become an ordinary member.
Mao reiterated that message during a question-and-answer session on the legislative floor yesterday, saying that the AIIB charter would be written in a way that would not obstruct Taiwan’s participation as an ordinary member.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“We simulated different potential scenarios and concluded that if we had not submitted our application before March 31 [the deadline for applications for founding members], what has been said about Taiwan’s participation not being obstructed might not be included in the future charter. We would then be relegated to the position of an observer, which is what we want to avoid,” Mao said.
According to a Xinhua news agency report, TAO spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said that Taiwan’s participation would be “positively reviewed” under “an appropriate name” when the involved parties formulate the AIIB charter.
Mao said the charter discussed and drafted by the first group of founding members “for the time being has no room for us [as a founding member],” when asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) why Taiwan could not be accepted as one.
He did not respond directly to DPP Legislator Chiu Chih-wei’s (邱志偉) question of whether China was the cause of the rejection.
“Why is it that we had to give China the chance to slap us in the face? Neither the US nor Japan applied to be founding members. Should we not have sided with our allies?” Chiu asked.
For Taiwan to become a member, it would require a “special arrangement in the charter,” Mao said.
“We do not have the same international status as the US and Japan do,” he said.
Chiu also raised doubts about a proposal by New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) for Taiwan to contribute NT$60 billion (US$1.92 billion) to the AIIB, asking about the source of capital and Mao’s opinion about it.
“There would be a procedure in place before that happens,” the premier said. “First we have to become a member, and the financial contribution would have to be overseen by the legislature.”
As for the amount, Mao said that as the authorized capital for the AIIB is said to be US$100 billion and the paid-up capital US$10 billion, it would be possible for Taiwan to first contribute US$200 million to the bank.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) urged Mao to “lodge a complaint with the Chinese government” for saying that Taiwan is not a sovereign state when explaining why Taiwan could not be a founding member.
“We should not allow their nonsense in our attempt to join any international organization,” Huang said.
Mao agreed, saying: “Taiwan is certainly an independent sovereign state.”
When KMT Legislator Chi Kuo-tung (紀國棟) asked him about his opinion on former Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Chiang Pin-kung’s (江丙坤) statement that Taiwan should not turn down the opportunity to join because of the name issue, Mao answered that the nation would join the AIIB under the name “Chinese Taipei” and that its participation is predicated on the conditions of being treated fairly and with dignity.
“We have the choice [to join or opt out],” Mao added.
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
RSS