The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) yesterday insisted it has received the green light from the Cambodian government to open a Taiwan trade center in Phnom Penh.
TAITRA, a non-profit trade promotion organization affiliated with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, made the remarks in response to media reports that Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen would block the establishment of the office.
In a press statement, TAITRA said it has obtained a “certificate of incorporation” to set up an office in Phnom Penh, which will be registered as the “Branch of Taiwan Trade Center Inc.”
The certificate was issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, TAITRA said.
According to a report published yesterday by the English-language the Cambodia Daily, Hun Sen ordered the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get a local newspaper, Rasmei Kampuchea, to correct a front-page article lifted from the Taipei Times’ news Web site, which said the Cambodian government had approved TAITRA’s plan.
“This story is very sensitive for Cambodia’s foreign affairs policy which implemented the one China policy a long time ago,” Hun Sen was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying.
Cambodia’s official policy does not allow Taiwan to have offices in the country “in any circumstances,” the paper also quoted Hun Sen as saying.
“We do not authorize any [Taiwanese] national ceremonies or the raising of the flag of Taiwan on Cambodia’s land, even in hotels,” Hun Sen added.
“We especially do not allow this as Taiwan is just one province of China,” he told the daily, referring to TAITRA chairman Wang Chih-kang’s (王志剛) statement on Wednesday in Taipei that the center was expected to be officially launched in Phnom Penh next month.
Wang was unable to comment yesterday, but TAITRA issued a statement later yesterday after Wang had finished a meeting.
Wang’s announcement about the center was warmly welcomed by the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, with its director-general, Nguon Meng Tech, reportedly saying on Friday: “I have been waiting for a long time as I had suggested [the Taiwan trade center] to the former minister of commerce [Cham Prasidh] twice, but had no response.”
When asked about his views on Hun Sen’s remarks by the Cambodia Daily, Meng Tech declined to comment about political matters, but insisted that the opening of a Taiwanese trade center in Phnom Penh would be a valuable trade tool.
“Many Taiwanese companies go to invest in Vietnam and it brings in a lot of money, but Cambodia does not receive as much [investment] from Taiwan, that’s why I suggested to the government to have a trade center with Taiwan,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
An official at TAITRA who wished to remain anonymous told the Taipei Times yesterday that the trade organization has not received any information from their counterparts in Cambodia about the Phnom Penh government planning to rescind the certificate.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
RSS