The Japanese government welcomes all countries, including Taiwan, that can accept the principles and standards of a Japanese-led international economic bloc and has called on Taipei to solicit support to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a Taiwanese diplomat said yesterday.
The government has confirmed Tokyo’s official stance of welcoming Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Deputy Secretary-General Hsieh Bor-huei (謝柏輝) told a news briefing.
It has always been Japan’s stance that such a trade deal would be open to countries or regions that accept its principles and are willing to meet its standards, Hsieh added.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
Japan also suggested that Taiwan should solicit support from more CPTPP members, because the trade group operates by consensus, he said.
A previous comment made by Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono, who said that Taiwan’s decision to maintain a ban on Japanese food products from areas affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster might hamper Taipei’s bid to join the CPTPP, was made in response to media inquires and might only reflect his personal view, Hsieh said.
On Nov. 24 last year, 78 percent of Taiwanese voters cast ballots in favor of the ban.
Asked about Tokyo’s stance regarding the result during a Dec. 7 news conference, Kono expressed disappointment and said that his government would consider filing a complaint with the WTO.
Hsieh said that Taiwan has been trying to amend ties with Japan since the referendum.
Taiwan is considering learning from the US and the EU, which screen certain food products imported from Japan’s nuclear disaster-affected areas to ensure they are safe to eat, instead of banning them altogether, he said.
“In this way, we can make sure the health of Taiwanese is protected, while at the same time staying in line with international standards when dealing with food safety issues,” he said.
The CPTPP last month agreed to expand its membership during its first commission meeting in Tokyo.
Participating countries in a joint ministerial statement highlighted the importance of expanding the agreement by taking in new members to form a stronger united front against the rise of protectionism.
CPTPP member countries understand that Taiwan is interested in joining the trade bloc, and the government would continue to communicate with them and seek their support, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The CPTPP came into being after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017.
The other 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries — Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — renegotiated the free-trade deal and signed it in March last year.
SELF-RELIANCE: Taiwan would struggle to receive aid in the event of an invasion, so it must prepare to ‘hold its own’ for the first 70 days of a war, a defense expert said Taiwan should strengthen infrastructure, stock up on reserves and step up efforts to encourage Taiwanese to fight against an enemy, legislators and experts said on Tuesday last week. The comments sought to summarize what the nation should learn from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has exceeded 300 days, since Feb. 24 last year. Institute of National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said that the war in Ukraine highlighted the importance of being ready for war. Taiwan’s development of an “asymmetrical warfare” doctrine and extending mandatory conscription to one year is a good start to preparation of defense against a
The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday said it would delay the lifting of the indoor mask mandate, citing public health considerations and ongoing discussions on how the policy should be implemented. Earlier this week, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said officials from several ministries were working on the policy and an announcement would be made yesterday. However, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, yesterday said that the policy was still under review. Wang said its implementation would be “delayed slightly” due to three main factors. First, the center
END OF SERIES: As the first generation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are set to expire, the CECC would no longer offer them to children younger than four years old The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the nation’s first case of a person infected with the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2. The Taiwanese man in his 20s arrived from Canada on Jan. 22, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. He tested positive after reporting having a runny nose and muscle soreness while in airport quarantine, Lo said. The XBB.1.5 subvariant is the dominant strain in the US, but there is no evidence to suggest that it causes more severe illness than other Omicron subvariants, he said,
NORMALIZING TIES: The delegation led by the KMT’s Johnny Chiang is to meet with British lawmakers, think tanks and business groups to discuss developments A legislative delegation led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) arrived in the UK yesterday to rally support for Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Chiang heads the Legislative Yuan’s Taiwan-UK Interparliamentary Amity Association. The delegation also includes KMT legislators Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞), Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), Sandy Yu (游毓蘭) and Wu I-ding (吳怡玎). The group is to meet with British lawmakers Alicia Kearns, who chairs the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee; Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the House Defence Select Committee; and Bob Stewart, who cochairs the
RSS