Premier Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday said that “Chinese Taipei,” a name Taiwan uses in many international organizations, is “unsatisfactory, but acceptable.”
Lin made the remarks in response to criticism over Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Tzou-yien’s (林奏延) use of “Chinese Taipei” rather than “Taiwan” throughout his five-minute speech on Wednesday at the 69th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland.
“It is reality that we are participating in international organizations under this name, hoping that our participation in international activities and the opportunities to engage in international exchanges and our chance to contribute to the world would not be impeded,” Lin said.
Lin, who is leading the Taiwanese delegation at the WHA, on Wednesday told reporters that he had delivered a protest letter to the WHA to complain about its reference to the “one China” principle in its invitation to Taiwan this year.
Lin said he delivered the letter in person on Monday to a legal counsel of the WHO, asking the person to hand it over to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍).
In the letter, he wrote that the principle behind the nation’s attendance at the WHA is to be professional and pragmatic and to contribute to and participate in the global health system, Lin said, adding that Taiwan’s participation has nothing to do with politics or the “one China” principle.
The letter also conveyed Taiwan’s protest over the WHA’s late invitation, Lin said.
Taiwan, which has been taking part in WHA activities since 2009, received an invitation this year that made reference to the “one China” principle and said that Taiwan is no longer a member of the UN or the WHO.
For the first time, the invitation mentioned UN Resolution 2758, WHA Resolution 25.1, and the “one China” principle.
The first resolution was passed by the UN in 1971, recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China to the UN, while the second resolution was adopted by the WHO in 1972 to expel the Republic of China.
The inclusion of the “one China” principle in the invitation was seen in Taiwan as an attempt to denigrate its sovereignty.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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