Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers castigated the Prague City Council’s support for China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan in a sistership agreement that the city has signed with Beijing, and called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the premier to express the nation’s disapproval.
The city assembly on Thursday ratified an agreement which included a clause stating that “Prague recognizes the one-China policy, as well as recognizes Taiwan as an inseparable part of Chinese territory.”
The phrase was a major impediment to the signing of the agreement — which has been under negotiation since the summer of last year. The council’s final decision has met the opprobrium of Taiwanese legislators and Czech councilors alike.
DPP Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米) on Friday demanded to know the nation’s response to the slight on the nation’s sovereignty after raising the issue with Premier Simon Chang (張善政).
Chang said the nation did not recognize the claim, adding that the Republic of China (ROC) was not involved in the negotiating or signing of the agreement.
Other countries have similar deals, and while the government must respond to the incident, it is not within the remit of the Legislative Yuan to do so, Chang said, adding that the government must have an appropriate platform to tender its protests to the Czech government.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said the ministry would strongly protest any action slighting Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that the foreign ministry would express its concerns to the Czech government.
While Prague Mayor Adriana Krnacova said that the agreement was mutually beneficial to both Beijing and Prague, and called for an increase in exchanges aimed at mutual development and prosperity, its passage has caused controversy in the city assembly.
According to reports in the Prague Post, assembly member Lukas Kaucky of the Czech Socialist Democratic Party said the policy was in line with the Czech Republic’s foreign policy and that it was passed because Prague also has a sister city agreement with Taipei, which was signed in 2001.
However, Tradition Responsibility Prosperity party founder Miroslav Kalousek said the city had overstepped its authority by engaging in activity that falls under the purview of the national government, according to the report.
“There’s no reason why a clause about high-level international policy should be in an agreement between two cities,” Kalousek said, adding that its only possible purpose was to show timidity and submissiveness to an authoritarian regime, the report said.
“With a partnership with Beijing where Prague recognizes Taiwan as part of China and disagrees with an independent Tibet. It is an undignified shame on Prague,” Assembly member Ondeej Mirovsky said on Facebook.
The foreign ministry has ordered the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague to protest the incident while asking for a clarification on the issue from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as demanding that the Czech government rectify the situation.
The ROC has always been a sovereign, independent and democratic nation since its founding in 1912, has independent diplomatic relations and is an active member in international organizations, Lin said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai