Taiwan needs to know why Washington opposes Taipei's bid for UN membership under the name "Taiwan," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Accompanied by 14 DPP legislators, Hsieh is on a 10-day US visit that will also take him to Washington; Detroit, Michigan; and Los Angeles, California.
Hsieh said it was important to know "whether the US government is opposed to Taiwan applying for UN membership under the country's formal name, or to applying as `Taiwan,' as President Chen Shui-bian (
Hsieh said he would try to convey the public's opinion on the UN issue to US authorities.
Hsieh said he had a full schedule during his visit, as he planned to organize support groups for his election campaign, visit think tanks, meet US officials and congressmen, and publicize Taiwan's stance on its role in maintaining peace in the Asia-Pacific region.
Hsieh said there was a confidence crisis affecting Taiwan-US ties, adding that Washington is Taiwan's most important partner.
The crisis is a result of many factors, Hsieh said, including Taiwan's stalls in Taiwan's arms procurement budgets.
Hsieh said he would discuss key issues with Washington officials and hoped to dispel doubts by being frank.
Upon his arrival in New York, Hsieh was greeted by officials of Taiwan's representative office in New York, members of the DPP's US East chapter and overseas Taiwanese living in the US.
He was scheduled to watch a baseball game at Yankee Stadium yesterday and meet overseas Taiwanese.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taiwan is bracing for a political shake-up as a majority of directly elected lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) face the prospect of early removal from office in an unprecedented wave of recall votes slated for July 26 and Aug. 23. The outcome of the public votes targeting 26 KMT lawmakers in the next two months — and potentially five more at later dates — could upend the power structure in the legislature, where the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) currently hold a combined majority. After denying direct involvement in the recall campaigns for months, the
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