The global security environment after the Sept. 11 attacks and the changing WTO agenda have created a challenging situation that requires strategic thinking, visiting former Canadian foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy said yesterday.
"The combination of the post-911 [environment] and the WTO created a very different and quite challenging set of [circumstances] ... that really requires people to think how to act their way through it," Axworthy said during his talk on "sovereignty, security and economy with a human face."
The events of Sept. 11 "showed the vulnerability of the people who find their innocence exploited and violated ... and even the strongest and most powerful country in the world did not have the capacity to stop them," the Nobel peace prize nominee said.
There is also a certain "contradiction" in the Sept. 11 attacks in that even the buildup of massive military power in the US failed to protect innocent people from what Axworthy termed a "criminal" act.
Although attention had been drawn to possible joint action to combat global terrorism prior to Sept. 11 -- for instance at related discussions held during G8 meetings in the late 1980s -- the rhetoric had far outweighed the commitment to united international action, Axworthy lamented.
The former foreign minister told his audience in Taipei that it's crucial to understand "the global nature of the threat" posed by terrorists and that the solution to that threat requires joint action on a global scale.
Axworthy, director and CEO of the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in Canada, also highlighted the difficulty faced by the private sector in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The private sector has faced "a harsh reality" in that the calculation of risk has "stretched substantially." Companies have seen sharp changes in transportation costs, as well as major changes in the demand for security.
"With the accession of Taiwan and China to the WTO, those kinds of economic and risk assessments and calculations could become far more crucial, and that requires strategic thinking not just for the existing [WTO] members but also for the new members," Axworthy argued.
Following the Doha meeting last year, the WTO also began to deal with environmental, intellectual property and energy issues -- a fact that would make strategic thinking in dealing with the "new security environment" all the more important, he said.
Axworthy, however, was careful in responding to questions from the floor about how Taiwan should deal with its giant neighbor, China.
"[It's like] making love to a concubine, do it carefully," said Axworthy, using what he termed "an old Canadian expression."
Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) told Axworthy yesterday during their meeting that Taiwan's entry to the WTO could serve as a window of opportunity for boosting trade between Taiwan and Canada, according to a Presidential Office press release.
Chen also urged Canada to support Taiwan's bid to join the UN and the WHO, according to the statement.
Axworthy, Canada's foreign minister from 1996 to 2000, is the key architect of the so-called "Axworthy Doctrine," which has the concept of "human security" as its cornerstone.
Axworthy has defined human security as "a condition or state of being characterized by freedom from pervasive threats to people's rights, their safety, or even their lives. ... It is an alternative way of seeing the world, taking people as the point of reference, rather than focussing exclusively on the security of territory or governments."
Some have argued that the notion of "human security" has become all the more relevant following the Sept. 11 attacks, suggesting that the notion of security should not be defined exclusively in military terms, but rather on a broader basis.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS