A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator yesterday criticized the government after the US’ National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center referred to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei” in warnings issued on Saturday after a major earthquake shook Chile earlier the same day.
ALERTS
Taiwan was first included in the tsunami alert issued by the center under the US Department of Commerce at 10:43am under the name “Chinese Taipei.”
The nation’s title in the official texts by the center remained unchanged throughout the other 13 alerts issued through 11:48pm.
The tsunami warning for Taiwan was lifted by the center early on Sunday.
A report by CNN on its Web site on Saturday also quoted the center’s alerts, also referring to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei.”
CHANGED
The term was later changed to “Taiwan” on Sunday afternoon, but the term “Chinese Taipei” could still be seen when cross-referencing the title of the article and the keyword “Chinese Taipei” on search engines.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday lashed out at the Government Information Office (GIO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), saying they were unaware of the matter.
Kuan described the center’s referring to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei” in its official tsunami warnings as a “serious warning signal” because the US government never refers to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei” in any of its official documents.
GIO Minister Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) told the Taipei Times that the office would deal with the name issue after coordinating with MOFA. Chiang did not elaborate.
MOFA Deputy Spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the ministry had asked relevant government agencies to look into the matter.
COMPATRIOTS
Meanwhile, Chang said a Taiwanese compatriot in Chile had been able to help the ministry locate three other compatriots by driving to Concepcion and confirming their safety.
The ministry remained unable to reach three other Taiwanese there, Chang said.
In related developments, Taiwan has decided to donate US$200,000 to Chile for disaster relief, MOFA said in a press release later yesterday.
Taiwan will evaluate the amount of aid after reviewing the situation, the ministry said.
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