As the nation will make its 10th attempt to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer today, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The international community will gradually come to understand how unfairly we have been treated, especially with respect to our bid to join the World Health Organization and change the name of the Taiwanese chapter of the Lions Club," Chen said.
Chen made the remarks in an opening speech delivered at the annual meeting of the Taiwan chapter of the Lions Club in Keelung City (
In April 2002, the headquarters of the Lions Clubs International in Chicago decided to change the name of the Taiwanese chapter from "ROC Lions Club" to "China Taiwan Lions Club." The national flag was also removed from the the chapter's membership flag.
Although a temporary agreement was reached whereby the national Lions Club is known as "Taiwan Area MD300," the name still does not reflect the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign nation as "MD300" refers to the chapter's code number.
Chen said that he expects to see more repression from China as the club continues to push for its name to be changed and vies to hold the Lions Clubs International annual meeting in 2012.
Citing his recently concluded state visit to Latin America, Chen said that as long as the public does not give up, the nation would eventually succeed in winning the support of the international community.
"My overseas trip was indeed a tough one," he said. "However, roads are made by determined people and God will not close all the doors. I believe if we have faith and unite together, we will prevail."
Despite China's implacable suppression, Chen said that the hard work put in over the years was beginning to bear fruit.
Commenting on growing international support for the nation's WHA bid, Chen said Japan and the US had voted in favor of Taiwan's effort two years ago. This year, the European Parliament passed a resolution backing the nation's WHA bid and the EU expressed concern over the issue, he said.
The revised International Health Regulations (IHR), he said, also allow the nation more opportunities to participate in the international community.
Taiwan has notified the WHO of its decision to implement and comply with the revised IHR. The nation's commitment to comply with the regulations means that it is covered by the IHR framework and that the WHO will do its best to assist with Taiwan's disease control and prevention efforts.
In a bid to boost the nation's WHA bid, Chen held a two-hour teleconference with health experts and academics in Geneva on Friday, urging the WHO to grant Taiwan observer status as it is not a requirement for observers to be sovereign states.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS