One hundred EU parliamentarians have once again voiced their support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN as a full member.
The parliamentarians issued a joint statement in favor of Taiwan's UN bid that was carried in the weekly European Voice on Wednesday.
Taiwan will hold two referendums today, alongside the presidential election. A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-initiated referendum will ask voters whether Taiwan should rejoin the UN under the name of its official title, the Republic of China, or any other "practical" name, while a Democratic Progressive Party-proposed referendum calls for joining the UN under the name "Taiwan."
The EU lawmakers said that Taiwan is a sovereign state and a full-fledged democracy that has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China.
They said they have demanded in a number of resolutions EU support of Taiwan's UN bid, pointing out that the people of Taiwan deserve "better representation" globally, as the country is represented in only a few important international organizations such as the WTO, APEC and the Asian Development Bank.
Noting that Taiwan has a fully developed economy and has made commendable contributions to the international community, the lawmakers called for EU member countries, as well as UN member countries, to "seriously" consider Taiwan's bids to join the UN.
The parliamentarians included Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the European Parliament, Georg Jarzembowski, chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group; and Graham Watson, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, in Taipei yesterday, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher told a press conference that the people of Taiwan should fully participate in today's election and not be intimidated by threats unleashed by a "rogue nation."
Rohrabacher, a staunch supporter of Taiwan in Washington who co-chairs the Taiwan Caucus, is part of the US delegation to observe the election and the referendums today.
Rohrabacher stressed that his statements only reflect his personal view and do not represent that of the US government. He also made it clear that he does not endorse any particular candidate because "the decision must only be made by the Taiwanese people."
Rohrabacher answered with a resolute "yes" when asked by the Taipei Times at the press conference if he believed recent statements by US Secretary of State Condelezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte chastising the referendum for applying for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" as "provocative," and "unhelpful" had crossed the line for a foreign spectator.
He went on to say he believes Taiwan has a "legitimate government," more so than China where free elections do not exist, and deserves to have a UN seat.
After four free and fair elections, Taiwan should not and will not be intimidated by a "tyrannical regime" because allowing this to happen would only embolden the oppressors, he said.
Taiwan's "shining democracy," he said, serves as an example in the region, including to people in China.
Calling the Beijing Games an "Olympic fraud," the congressman slammed China for using the games to disguise its human rights abuses in Tibet and against Falun Gong practitioners, and its persistent oppression of Taiwan.
Rohrabacher was one of the nine congressional members who wrote a letter urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put a vote to the floor on boycotting the Games in August due to China's recent bloody crackdown on Tibetan protesters in Lhasa.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS