Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) protested Taiwan’s designation as “Taipei, China” at the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual meeting, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
A ministry official in Chuang’s delegation to the meeting in Incheon, South Korea, said by telephone that Chuang repeated Taiwan’s demand to correct the name and voiced “our disagreement over the unilateral alteration of our membership designation.”
Established in 1966, the bank is owned by 68 members, with 49 from the region. Chuang serves as a board governor.
Photo courtesy of Asian Development Bank
Taiwan was one of the bank’s founding members, but it has been called “Taipei, China” since 1986, when the People’s Republic of China joined the bank.
Chuang protested the designation during her speech, saying that Taiwan has fulfilled its obligations and responsibilities as a member of the bank, the ministry said.
She urged ADB member nations to respect each other and allow Taiwan to participate in the bank’s activities on an equal footing.
On its Web site, the Manila-headquartered bank says that Taiwan has provided it with US$1.54 billion in capital as of Dec. 31 last year, and has also contributed or committed US$133.43 million to the bank’s special funds since becoming a member.
A total of 1,102 goods, works and related service contracts worth US$1.51 billion, and 83 consulting contracts valued at US$49.67 million, have been awarded to contractors, suppliers and consultants from “Taipei, China,” the Web site says.
The annual meeting was held from Tuesday through Friday under the theme of “Rebounding Asia: Recover, Reconnect and Reform.”
The ministry official said that Chuang discussed a range of topics at the annual meeting, with a particular focus on climate change, regional cooperation and gender equality.
She urged the bank to make stronger and more effective efforts to build climate resilience for environmentally vulnerable developing member countries, such as small island states, the official said.
Chuang also stressed the importance of bolstering domestic resource mobilization among developing member countries to improve their capacity to collect taxes and other revenue to provide better public services and economic support.
Regarding gender equality, Chuang said that Taiwan has been ahead of its peers on the issue and was willing to share its experience with its partners.
Chuang and central bank Deputy Governor Chu Mei-lie (朱美麗), who is Taiwan’s alternate governor to the ADB, are next to attend the 63rd annual governors’ meeting of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) in the Dominican Republic from Thursday to Saturday.
Chuang is to participate in her capacity as a governor at the CABEI, the ministry said.
Taiwan joined the CABEI in 1992 under its official Republic of China name as a non-regional member, with an 11.09 percent stake in the bank, the highest among the body’s seven non-regional members.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS