An article presented at a forum in Taipei yesterday urged Beijing to reconsider its “outdated strategy” to block Taiwan from joining international organizations.
The article was coauthored by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Chih-chung (吳志中) and National Chung Hsing University’s Graduate Institute of International Politics Chairman Chen Mu-min (陳牧民).
“China must consider this at a time when many issues have transcended the sovereignty-oriented mindset and require transnational collaboration,” said the article, which was presented by Wu on the final day of the two-day forum, titled “Direct Election of President and Taiwan’s Democratic Development in the Past 20 Years.”
The article said China’s stubborn objection to Taiwan’s participation in the international community might not only cause harm to its international image and hinder its plan of becoming the world’s leading power, but can also be met by growing sentiment that is opposed to China and could damage cross-strait relations.
China should give serious thought to abandoning its outdated mindset and policies to allow Taipei, Beijing and the entire international community to jointly build a future at a time when the welfare and safety of people are threatened by global warming, environmental pollution, the globalization of crime and the emergence of epidemics, the article said.
The article was apparently referring to the WHO’s unprecedented mentioning of the “one China” principle in Taiwan’s invitation to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), which arrived days before the deadline for registering for the forum.
The controversial reference to the “one China” principle was perceived as Beijing’s attempt to step up its pressure on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to toe Beijing’s line.
Wu said China has nothing to gain from blocking Taiwan’s participation at the WHO, which focuses mainly on public health issues, as the health of Chinese tourists to Taiwan could also be at risk should an epidemic break out in the nation.
Expressing hopes that Taipei and Beijing could come to an understanding on the matter and jointly strive for a win-win situation, Wu said Taiwan’s participation at the WHO is closely intertwined with the welfare, health and safety of humanity.
Additional reporting by CNA
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
RSS