Cross-party negotiations to draft a statement on UN Resolution 2758 broke down after heated disagreements about whether to align with other parliamentary statements on the matter or to return to the UN as the Republic of China (ROC).
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus held discussions between the three major political parties on the statement, during which all parties put forward their respective proposals.
In July, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China passed a motion clarifying that the resolution does not limit Taiwan’s participation in the UN, and that China has distorted its meaning to align with its own “one China” principle.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The Dutch House of Representatives, the Australian Senate and the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs have also passed similar statements.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suggested that the statement should emphasize how the resolution does not mention Taiwan, and that China has distorted it to block the nation from participating in international affairs.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) preferred to break with the resolution, and for Taiwan to rejoin the UN under the name the ROC.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
As no consensus was reached, it would be up to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to hold future negotiations.
TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿), who chaired the meeting, said the TPP hoped that the Legislative Yuan could come to an agreement.
Chen added that the TPP’s proposed statement referred to the country as “ROC Taiwan.”
DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said that the DPP and TPP proposals were similar, with the key difference being that the DPP sought to condemn China to align with statements from legislatures in other countries.
KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), who arrived late, referred to President William Lai’s (賴清德) remarks over the weekend that China cannot be Taiwan’s “motherland” and said that both parties were united in their feelings, and that the DPP has no reason to oppose the KMT’s proposal to rejoin international organizations as the ROC.
DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) agreed with Shen that the TPP and DPP proposals were close in terms of historical accuracy and reflected mainstream public opinion, although the former is more domestic-focused and the latter focused internationally.
However, the KMT proposal seeks to negate UN Resolution 2758 entirely and is at odds with the international community, she added.
After further remarks from Lo, the DPP legislators left the meeting.
Wu accused Lo and the KMT of seeking to sow chaos within the Legislative Yuan, adding that such statements could send the wrong signal to the international community.
She said the KMT refused to engage in good-faith negotiations, adding that the DPP would await future talks led by Han.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS