Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday urged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to file a case at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea with regard to the nation’s rights over islands in the South China Sea, while calling on the ruling and opposition parties to initiate a name-rectification movement for the nation.
Lu made the remarks at the legislature at a forum on how to rectify problems posed by a ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Tuesday last week regarding a dispute between the Philippines and China over features in the South China Sea.
Lu said Taiwan is the one to suffer amid a wrestling match between China and the US over South China Sea issues, quoting an African proverb: “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.”
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
Losses the nation has sustained in terms of its maritime rights and resources are beyond measure, she said.
“Among the damage the ruling did was to downgrade Itu Aba Island [Taiping Island, 太平島], but even worse was its referring to Taiwan as the ‘Taiwan Authority of China’ on 12 occasions,” Lu said.
Lu said the ruling sent a loud message to the international community that Itu Aba is not an island and Taiwan is not a nation, adding that the Republic of China (ROC) was not even mentioned once.
The former vice president was referring to parts of the ruling that state all of the high-tide features in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), including Itu Aba, are legally “rocks” that do not merit an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.
Tsai’s administration, as well as lawmakers across party lines, have decried the ruling and refused to recognize it.
Lu said that the government should seriously ponder filing a case with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, to prove that the “biased ruling” is not legally binding.
She also called for the initiation of an international “name rectification movement” to prove to the international community that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) told a routine press briefing in Taipei yesterday afternoon that the office appreciated Lu’s opinions, but that the government has taken measures to safeguard the nation’s rights over islands in the South China Sea and their waters.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
RSS