Paraguayan President Santiago Pena and Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr on Friday called for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN’s annual conference on climate change.
Calling climate change a common challenge for all countries, Pena, speaking in his national statement at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, urged the participation of the Republic of China in the meetings.
The conference, where government leaders and envoys gather to explore ways to tackle issues related to climate change, started on Thursday and ends on Dec. 12.
Photo: AP
Whipps echoed Pena, saying that “Taiwan must be allowed to participate in UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] processes and share [its] expertise.”
The UNFCCC is an intergovernmental treaty developed to address climate change. The UN’s climate summits serve as the formal meetings of UNFCCC members.
“The solution to the climate crisis requires everyone’s participation,” Whipps said, adding that “the 23 million people of Taiwan and the thousands of businesses” should not be excluded.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan has worked in tandem with Pacific islands and like-minded partners to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, he said.
Taiwan was not invited to COP28 because it is not a member of the UN, and due to Beijing’s efforts to drastically limit the country’s participation in international organizations.
Since 1995, Taiwanese officials have participated in the annual conference through the government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute, acting as a non-governmental organization observer.
Palauan Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment Steven Victor told a separate forum that it was “unfortunate” that Taiwan had been excluded from the UNFCCC process and other global efforts to deal with climate change issues.
“While Taiwan is not a member of the UNFCCC, it has done its part as a member of the global community, and we are very much appreciative of Taiwan’s commitments,” Victor said.
The minister added that Taiwan had provided Palau with financial support to help it mitigate the effects of rising sea levels, with the construction of seal walls in particular.
Similarly, Tuvaluan Minister of Finance and Economic Development Seve Paeniu lauded Taiwan’s emergency assistance to the Pacific island nation when it was hit by a severe drought late last year, as well as by a severe cyclone in early 2020.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed gratitude for the support.
It also reiterated Taiwan’s willingness to fulfill its responsibility as a member of the international community, and work with like-minded partners to combat climate change in the spirit of “Taiwan can help.”
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better