Taiwan is working on “informal consultations” with member states of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) before it formally applies to join the trade bloc, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday.
The ministry on Monday said there is an ongoing disinformation campaign online accusing the government of not having submitted an application and that the nation would not be admitted because of pressure from Beijing.
All nations hoping to join the trade group have to obtain the consensus of all member states through information consultations before they can submit a formal application, Ou told a news briefing in Taipei.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
Taiwan is in the middle of conducting informal consultations with the pact’s 11 member states, which are aware of the nation’s determination and the steps it is to take for participation, she said.
Joining the CPTPP is crucial for the nation’s economic growth, and Taiwan looks forward to establishing reciprocal trade relations with member states, Ou said.
Among the 11 countries, Malaysia, Peru, Chile and Brunei have not yet completed their domestic legal process for joining the pact, Ou said.
No other new member state would be admitted at present, she said.
The 11 members represent about 13 percent of global GDP, according to information from the Executive Yuan.
Taiwan’s ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures after the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster is considered a hurdle for its bid to join the pact, while there is speculation that the government would seek to lift the ban.
The US in 2017 withdrew from the TPP, the precursor of the CPTPP.
Kurt Campbell, a former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, earlier this month warned about China’s growing clout in regional and global economy.
Beijing has joined the 15-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and has expressed an interest in the CPTPP, which should sound a knell for Washington, Campbell said.
He added that he did not think US president-elect Joe Biden’s administration would step into a multilateral institution very soon given the country’s domestic instability.
Additional reporting by CNA
A video allegedly featuring retired general Kao An-kuo (高安國) calling on Taiwanese military officers to surrender to China and overthrow the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has sparked outrage and calls for him to be charged with treason. The video, titled “A message to Taiwanese military officers,” allegedly shows Kao saying: “I call on commanding officers of our military troops to stand up for Chinese nationalism, to take up this duty under heaven’s mandate to save Taiwanese from oppression and terrible suffering.” Dressed in military fatigues and a beret, the lieutenant general called on officers to overthrow the “fraudulent DPP regime,”
‘NOT IMPOSSIBLE’: Acceptance to the UN would end the nation’s troubles, but it would be impossible to achieve without US backing, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun said The US might recognize Taiwan if war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said yesterday while discussing politics with former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Speaking on Chen’s program on Smile Radio, You reminisced about his agrarian childhood, studies, the founding of the Democratic Progressive Party in 1986 and his eight years as Yilan County commissioner. Chen’s appointment of You as premier in February 2002 marked several firsts, as he was Taiwan’s youngest premier, as well as the first from a farming background and first democratically elected county leader to hold the office. Asked to share his views on
ONLY EXCEPTIONS: The mayors of the two largest cities voiced concerns over hidden cases, while all other local governments are to follow eased CECC guidelines All local governments, with the exception of Taipei and New Taipei City, are to allow dine-in services at restaurants after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday announced that it would on Tuesday lower a nationwide COVID-19 alert to level 2. The center on July 8 allowed the resumption of dining at restaurants nationwide — despite keeping the alert level at 3. At the time, this prompted all cities and counties, except Penghu Country, to keep local dine-in bans in place. Following Friday’s CECC announcement that COVID-19 prevention measures would be further relaxed, the Taipei and New Taipei City governments
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday rejected the claim Beijing has been making about Taiwan’s status, while thanking US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for raising concerns about Taiwan during her meeting with Chinese officials. Sherman met with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on a visit to Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, with Wang urging Washington not to infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Taiwan is part of China, a fundamental fact that would never change, and China has the right to take any action needed to restrain Taiwanese independence, Wang said, urging Washington to abide
RSS