The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that China has no right to interfere with the future establishment of representative offices between Taiwan and the EU.
"This is an issue between Taiwan and the EU. China has absolutely no reason to play a part or to interfere," foreign ministry spokesperson Katharine Chang (
Chang was responding to a recent comment made by China's Prime Minister Zhu Rongji (
The European Commission suggested on Tuesday that the EU weigh the possibility of setting up a representative office in Taipei following Taiwan's expected admission to the WTO.
The commission suggested to the European Parliament that Taiwan be considered when looking at increasing representative offices overseas.
It has been one of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Taiwan's entry into the WTO has been viewed as a vital push for this goal, given that the move would boost trade and investment between the EU and its third largest bilateral trading partner in Asia.
In the proposal entitled, "Europe and Asia: A Strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnership," the EU's executive body defined Taiwan as "a separate customs territory" rather than as a sovereign state -- a statement in line with the EU's "one China" policy.
The proposal reiterated EU support for the peaceful resolution of disputes between Taiwan and China. "The EU is convinced that the cross-strait issue can only be solved peacefully, and on the basis of constructive dialogue," the report said.
Taipei has dispatched former vice foreign minister David Lee (李大維) to serve as the nation's top representative in Brussels as part of the move to push for the establishment of representative offices.
Lee said after his appointment in April that communications between Taipei's representative office in Brussels and related EU officials have been "smooth."
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
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