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.
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