A Control Yuan report recommended that a model for participation in international organizations be added to the agenda for the fifth round of cross-strait talks next year.
Titled “Taiwan’s Participation in International Organizations,” the report also said the public should not have high expectations of the so-called “1992 consensus” because China’s insistence on the “one China” principle remains unchanged despite the change in Taiwan’s government.
The “1992 consensus” refers to an alleged agreement between China and Taiwan that there is “one China, with each side of the Strait having its own interpretation.”
A cross-strait diplomatic truce would require China’s tolerance of Taiwan participating in international organizations on a case-by-case basis, the report said.
However, when such participation reaches a certain number, it is feared that Beijing would insist on its “one China” principle, the report said.
The report also quoted former Chinese ambassador to the UK Ma Zhengang (馬振岡) as saying that it would be best to adopt a yearly review approach.
The report questioned how Taiwan’s sovereignty would be affected if it were required to seek consent from China or its blessing every time it wanted to apply to participate in an international organization.
The report went on to say that China often demands that Taiwan not use the titles “Taiwan” or “Republic of China” when Taiwanese officials or NGOs participate in international organizations.
Instead, Beijing insists on “Taiwan, China,” or “Chinese Taipei,” in line with the “one China” principle.
Wong Ming-hsien (翁明賢), director of Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, was quoted in the report as expressing reservation over the term “Chinese Taipei” when participating in international organizations.
While the government has said the use of the term would not affect the country’s sovereignty, Wong said he feared other countries could conceivably, over time, confuse the two, believing “Chinese Taipei” to be the official name.
The report also quoted the Ministry of Justice as noting that the US is trying to get China to take part in the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units’ anti-money laundering initiative.
For Taiwan to be involved, China will insist on the use of the term “Chinese Taipei” instead of Taiwan, and the US, Japan and Russia are likely to agree to this, the report said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue