The Presidential Office rebutted South Korean claims that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had not filed an application to attend the APEC forum to be held in Busan, South Korea in November, saying he had made his desire to attend explicit to the envoys sent by President Roh Moo-hyun last month, and that no other procedures are called for.
SEOUL REPORT
The Korea Times newspaper reported yesterday that an official of Seoul's Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said on Wednesday that the president had yet to send an application although Chen had expressed his wish to attend APEC's annual leadership forum this year.
"Diplomatic sources said Chen's hesitance might arise from China's strong opposition to his attending the APEC forum," the report said.
The report quoted an official of the Preparatory Office for APEC 2005, who said at a press briefing in Seoul that he personally thinks the possibility of the president's attendance is "next to nil," stressing that the Taiwanese leader has "conventionally'' opted not to take part in the forum.
TAIPEI RESPONSE
However, a top official at the Presidential Office said yesterday that Chen had clearly told Roh's envoy Kim Jong-hoon that he would attend when Kim delivered an invitation to the forum to the Presidential Office on July 22.
"Being a nation's leader, such an expression should be regarded as an official application," Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General James Huang (黃志芳) said.
Besides, a press release was written last month to explain Chen's stance, Huang said.
CONSENSUS NEEDED
Huang said that whether Chen could attend the forum would be based on consensus of members of the organization rather than any single one.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
RSS