Any attempt to change the "status quo" by force or coercion cannot bring true peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said in a letter to Pope Leo released by the Presidential Office today.
The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and the only one in Europe, although the Vatican has worked to improve relations with Beijing, including the appointment of Catholic bishops.
Writing to Pope Leo in response to his Jan. 1 World Day of Peace message, Lai said he had repeatedly emphasized that democracy, peace and prosperity are "Taiwan's national path and also Taiwan's link with the world."
Photo: AFP
In the face of long-term military coercion and political intimidation from "authoritarian states in the region," Taiwan has always chosen to safeguard peace in the Taiwan Strait through concrete actions, Lai added, without directly naming China.
"I firmly believe that any attempt to change Taiwan's status quo through force or coercion cannot bring true peace," he said.
In his letter to the Pope, Lai also called out "efforts to distort" World War II documents and the interpretation of the 1971 UN Resolution 2758, which led to Taipei losing the China seat at the global body to Beijing "in order to downgrade our sovereign status."
Beijing says World War II documents like the Cairo Declaration, as well as the 1971 UN resolution, give international legal backing to its sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
The government in Taipei says that is nonsense given the UN resolution made no mention of Taiwan, and that the People's Republic of China did not exist until the end of World War II.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS