The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for passing a resolution stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the first parliamentary body in Europe to approve such a motion.
The Taiwan-friendly motion was overwhelmingly approved by 146 of the House’s 150 members on Thursday.
It states that UN Resolution 2758 does not determine the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over Taiwan, nor does it preclude Taiwan’s participation in the UN or other international bodies.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The approval of the motion is significant for Taiwan, especially as the 79th session of the UN General Assembly just convened on Wednesday, the ministry said.
While the PRC has mischaracterized the UN resolution to block Taiwan’s international participation, it is in the interest of the Netherlands for Taiwan to be a part of global organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the WHO, the ministry cited the motion as saying.
The Dutch parliament’s move follows the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China’s (IPAC) passage of a similar motion in July and another by the Australian parliament last month, the ministry said.
The bipartisan motion was proposed by 13 parliamentary members from the Democrats 66 party, including IPAC cochair Jan Patternote, it said, adding that this was the third time the Dutch parliament has taken firm action to support Taiwan.
The Dutch House in April passed a motion to support Taiwan’s international participation, and another in May to urge the Dutch government to unite with the EU and like-minded countries to oppose China’s military drills around Taiwan and support maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) told a news conference that she expects more democratic allies to speak up for Taiwan.
The motion won approval from up to 14 parties at the Dutch parliament, she said, calling on the UN to reinterpret the resolution to stop China from continuously distorting and using it to suppress Taiwan’s participation in the international community.
The DPP caucus will put forward a similar motion in the upcoming legislative term to “support our nation ourselves,” Wu said, adding that she hoped that the opposition and ruling parties would support Taiwan together.
DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said she was glad to see that the influence of the IPAC in favor of Taiwan has extended to parliaments of countries like the Netherlands, adding that she expects more countries to join the effort.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS