Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
"I took the initiative to report to the Control Yuan," Chien said, adding the move was aimed at clarifying details concerning the ministry's handling of the issue to the four-member investigation team at the government watchdog agency.
Chien's offer came while the investigation team was debating whether to summon the foreign minister to report on the controversial issue.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The minister said he explained the procedures surrounding the issuing of the notarization of power of attorney to Wang through the representative office in Geneva in July 2001 and the London office just last month.
The paper was to notarize the appointment of a lawyer to act on Wang's behalf when the court in Taiwan handles a libel lawsuit he filed against national policy adviser Hsieh Tsung-min (
The minister said he endeavored to help the Control Yuan team reconstruct the facts surrounding the issue, while clarifying related questions from the team.
The ministry has already handed a related report to an evaluation team under the Executive Yuan earlier this week before the minister approached the Control Yuan.
Chien said the ministry has handled the case in accordance with related laws and regulations, while reiterating that he hasn't maintained any friendship or long-term relationship with Wang.
Meanwhile, Chan Hsien-ching (詹憲卿) yesterday morning handed over his post as the director-general of the ministry's Bureau of Consular Affairs to Chan's successor Yang Sheng-chung (楊勝宗) after his resignation over the notarization issue.
Chan also accompanied Chien during the Control Yuan meeting.
The Control Yuan team has already summoned Chan twice since the Geneva office issued the paper to Wang in July 2001 as part of the investigation into the causes and procedures surrounding the issuance by the two representative offices.
The ministry announced last week that it decided to revoke the issuance claiming the move might put Taiwan's national interests in jeopardy, one day after officials claimed the issuance was legally justifiable.
Wang, a former arms dealer, has been wanted since September 2000 in connection with the death of navy Captain Yin Ching-feng (
Chan yesterday morning also apologized to the foreign minister after he stepped down from his post.
"A purely consular affair has triggered a political storm," he said.
Chan said he has no complaints about how he had been treated.
Chien said although the ministry deemed the handling of the issue as legally justifiable, the process has been less than ideal.
The Geneva office issued the paper after consulting the ministry by two telegrams and two telephone calls, while the London office issued the paper after an internal meeting without any prior consultation with Taipei, officials said.
Chien also said he understood the "pain" Chan has experienced after the issue prompted criticism from all sides.
Chan has insisted that even a fugitive is entitled to application for power of attorney.
Chan will serve as a senior adviser at the ministry, while his successor, before taking up the new post, was the head of the ministry's Foreign Service Institute.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
RSS