The Presidential Office has expressed its "regret" at Beijing's attempts to stymie Taiwan's participation in international events, after Beijing opposed the attendance of Vice Premier Lai In-jaw (
"We will continue to try and get approval for Lai In-jaw's attendance at the APEC meeting as Taiwan's chief representative," said a Presidential Office official yesterday.
"Beijing openly forced the Brunei government to reject Taiwan's choice of representative and a Brunei government official negotiated with us personally last week ... We understand the pressure they were under now," the official said.
The Presidential Office's Public Affairs Department announced in a press release yesterday that "it is deeply regrettable" that Beijing's interference in the naming of delegation members has now placed Brunei -- the host country of the APEC summit meeting -- in a difficult position.
It said President Chen Shui-bian (
"He is regarded as the best choice for the mission by all industrial, business and academic sectors in Taiwan," the Presidential Office statement said.
"The Brunei authorities immediately accepted and acknowledged Taipei's decision," according to the news release.
"However, because of Beijing's intervention, Brunei contacted Taipei two days later to indicate Beijing's opposition and suggest that Lai's appointment puts Brunei in an awkward position."
Officials from the Presidential Office's Public Affairs Department said the government understood Brunei's position and would continue to negotiate in the hope that a solution satisfactory to the host country and Taiwan could be worked out.
"We have no intention of naming another candidate for the time being," the Presidential Office official said.
Chen had invited Koo Chen-fu (
But the 84-year-old veteran diplomat -- who attended APEC summits on behalf of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) between 1995 and 1997 -- turned down Chen's offer because of what he said was his "shaky" health.
Since 1993, at the first meeting of APEC leaders held near Seattle, Beijing has pressured the conference's organizers into refusing the participation of Taiwan's president, premier or vice premier at APEC's annual summits.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
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