The Japanese government welcomes all countries, including Taiwan, that can accept the principles and standards of a Japanese-led international economic bloc and has called on Taipei to solicit support to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a Taiwanese diplomat said yesterday.
The government has confirmed Tokyo’s official stance of welcoming Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Deputy Secretary-General Hsieh Bor-huei (謝柏輝) told a news briefing.
It has always been Japan’s stance that such a trade deal would be open to countries or regions that accept its principles and are willing to meet its standards, Hsieh added.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
Japan also suggested that Taiwan should solicit support from more CPTPP members, because the trade group operates by consensus, he said.
A previous comment made by Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono, who said that Taiwan’s decision to maintain a ban on Japanese food products from areas affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster might hamper Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, was made in response to media inquires and might only reflect his personal view, Hsieh said.
On Nov. 24 last year, 78 percent of Taiwanese voters cast ballots in favor of the ban.
Asked about Tokyo’s stance regarding the result during a Dec. 7 news conference, Kono expressed disappointment and said that his government would consider filing a complaint with the WTO.
Hsieh said that Taiwan has been trying to amend ties with Japan since the referendum.
Taiwan is considering learning from the US and the EU, which screen certain food products imported from Japan’s nuclear disaster-affected areas to ensure they are safe to eat, instead of banning them altogether, he said.
“In this way, we can make sure the health of Taiwanese is protected, while at the same time staying in line with international standards when dealing with food safety issues,” he said.
The CPTPP last month agreed to expand its membership during its first commission meeting in Tokyo.
Participating countries in a joint ministerial statement highlighted the importance of expanding the agreement by taking in new members to form a stronger united front against the rise of protectionism.
CPTPP member countries understand that Taiwan is interested in joining the trade bloc, and the government would continue to communicate with them and seek their support, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The CPTPP came into being after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017.
The other 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries — Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — renegotiated the free-trade deal and signed it in March last year.
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