Taiwan should give up the Republic of China’s (ROC) conventional foreign policy framework that seeks to compete with Beijing for the “representation of China,” and should not concern itself with the number of diplomatic allies it has under that framework, former premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday.
“Taiwan’s diplomatic allies will show up when the ROC’s diplomatic allies have decreased in number. Only [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平) should worry about the ROC’s diplomatic allies; we do not need to be troubled,” Yu said in response to Panama yesterday announcing that it was switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
Yu on Facebook yesterday reposted an opinion piece he wrote late last year when Saint Tome and Principe severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
According to the opinion piece, then-US president-elect Donald Trump’s verbal recognition of Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as the president of Taiwan changed the situation for the nation, and the government should respond with a new diplomatic strategy.
Taiwan should dedicate amounts of money to international aid that are in accordance with UN policy and not waste its attention on maintaining a certain number of ROC diplomatic partners, he said.
The idea that the ROC’s sovereignty extends to “mainland” areas and that the ROC is in competition with the People’s Republic of China over the right to represent “China” should be abandoned, he said.
International politics is controlled by the hegemonic powers, and Taiwan should base its diplomacy on survival by dedicating its resources to cultivating ties with the US, Japan and the EU, he said.
Taiwan’s survival in the international arena should be the supreme directive of the nation’s diplomacy, Yu said, adding that Taiwan should pursue opportunities to participate in international organizations under the name “Taiwan” and encourage other states to recognize the nation without demanding that they to derecognize Beijing.
The strategy of encouraging recognition of Taiwan and China might serve as a deterrent to China undermining the ROC’s diplomatic partners, because such actions could lead to the recognition of Taiwan as a state, Yu said.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Three tropical depressions yesterday intensified into tropical storms, with one likely to affect Taiwan as a typhoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The three storms, named Mitag, Ragasa and Neoguri, were designated as storms No. 17 to 19 for this year, the CWA said. Projected routes indicate that Ragasa is most likely to affect Taiwan, it said. As of 2am today, Ragasa was 1,370km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was moving west-northwest before turning northwest, slowing from 11kph to 6kph, the agency said. A sea warning for Ragasa is unlikely before Sunday afternoon, but its outer rim