The International Association of Judges (IAJ) has pledged to uphold members’ unconditional right to participate in annual meetings, saying it deeply regrets that Taiwan’s representatives were excluded from this year’s gathering in Azerbaijan, the Judges Association of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (JAROC) said today.
Six members of the JAROC were unable to attend the 67th IAJ Annual Meeting in Azerbaijan earlier this month after being denied entry permits.
The Azerbaijan Union of Judges had repeatedly assured the IAJ that it would assist members without prior visas to obtain visas on arrival, saying it had received approval from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Taiwanese association said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Five of the judges canceled their trip after they did not receive formal invitation letters or entry permits from the Azerbaijani government.
The delegation’s leader, High Court judge Lin Yi-lun (林伊倫), flew to Azerbaijan, but was denied entry at the border and forced to return.
The Azerbaijani government’s exclusion of Taiwan’s judges was reportedly due to pressure from China to uphold the “one China” principle.
The JAROC promptly called on the IAJ to establish a clear, public and transparent mechanism to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
The Judicial Yuan also expressed deep concern over the unfair treatment of JAROC’s representative judges, and said it would continue to support civil organizations in promoting Taiwan’s freedom and rule of law on the global stage.
The JAROC today said that it received a letter from the IAJ expressing regret over the exclusion, which it said hurt the entire organization and its annual meeting.
The actions of the Azerbaijani State Migration Service violated the IAJ’s spirit of international cooperation and inclusiveness, it said.
It pledged to uphold the unconditional right of members to participate, and to choose the meeting location carefully in the future to ensure that no judge is excluded due to government policies.
Taiwan’s association thanked the IAJ for its support and promises, saying it looks forward to every member being able to participate in annual meetings in the future.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS