Monday, January 28, 2008

Deutschland darf nicht Demokratie im Stich lassen

Obwohl Deutschland eine gute Beziehung mit China haben möchte, darf es nicht die Demokratie und Menschenrechte im Stich lassen. Herr Frank-Walter Steinmeier muss sich erinnern, dass China noch eine unbarmherzige Diktatur ist. China unterdrückt immer die Menschenrechte seiner Bürger, zerstört die Kultur Tibets, und droht die Demokratie Taiwans.

Die Regierung Deutschlands muss europäische Werte in ihrer Außenpolitik äußern, um die Freiheit und wesentlichen Rechte aller Leute fördern. Es ist wichtig dass Deutschland nicht vor China katzbuckeln. Lieber muss Deutschland die Volksabstimmung Taiwans unterstützen, und für die Selbstständigkeit Tibets kämpfen.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

MOFA condemns Chinese action at WHO board meet

Published in the Taipei Times

By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER, WITH CNA
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008, Page 1
China ambushed the nation's allies on the Executive Board of the WHO by robbing them of the opportunity to speak up for Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

El Salvador, Paraguay and Sao Tome and Principe had jointly proposed a draft resolution calling for the International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005 to be extended to include non-members like Taiwan.

The bill, which was initially scheduled for consideration during yesterday's meeting of the 122nd session of the WHO's Executive Board, was successfully blocked by China after it unexpectedly requested that its review be advanced to Monday 10 minutes before the day's meeting was to conclude, when most of the bill's sponsors were absent.

"We strongly condemn China for disregarding the health rights of Taiwanese. We also protest against the WHO for ignoring our allies' right to speak on behalf of their draft resolution," ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said.

Yeh said China has never cared about the health of Taiwanese, as shown by its failure last year to inform Taiwan of a shipment of potentially toxic corn from Thailand.

She said Paraguay had yesterday proposed an amendment stipulating that all countries must be included in the framework in order to prevent gaps in global efforts against disease.

Quoting the "universal application" clause within the IHR, Paraguay said China had no legitimate authority to represent Taiwan's health interests.

Yeh told the Taipei Times that representatives from San Tome and Principe and El Salvador had also condemned Beijing's claim to represent Taiwan's health interests.

Belize, although not a board member, also spoke in favor of Taiwan.

At press time, the meeting had not been adjourned.

It was reported that China also proposed its own amendment in an effort to block Taiwan's representation in the health agreement. Sri Lanka and Djibouti seconded China's motion.

Shen Lyu-hsun (沈呂巡), the nation's representative to Geneva, said the incident showed that China's suppression of Taiwan had intensified. He protested what he called the unfair ruling by WHO Executive Board Chairman Balaji Sadasivan in rejecting the bill, saying Beijing had wielded its influence to sabotage Taipei's chance.

"Unless the WHO does something about it, Taiwan will remain a gap in the global disease surveillance system after the Executive Board meeting concludes," Shen said.

During Monday's meeting, Li Baodong (李保東), China's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, said the draft resolution had challenged the "one China" principle. He said that with statehood as a prerequisite for implementation of the IHR, Beijing had already stated last May that the IHR applies to the "entire territory of the People's Republic of China, including ... the Taiwan Province."

An April agreement between Beijing and the WHO on Taiwan's role in the IHR stipulated that China's National Focal Point would handle routine IHR matters through existing cross-strait health communication channels, Li said.

Brown and China

Despite Prime Minister Gordon Brown's enthusiasm to open up new avenues for trade with China, he must not forget the threats and dangers to human rights, peace, and stability that the Chinese dictatorship still poses. China's deployment of over 1000 missiles aimed at Taiwan is the single most contributing threat to the fragile peace enjoyed in East Asia. Its continued persecution of Tibetan activists and Falun Dafa adherents contradicts the "peaceful rise" of China that its leaders attempt to sell.

Mr. Brown must ensure that British views on human rights, democratic development, and fundamental freedoms are expressed clearly to the Chinese dictatorship. This trip is an excellent opportunity for Britain to press for responsible actions and continued reforms in the Chinese dictatorship. Mr. Brown must make the most of this chance.

Dr. Stan Lai, Spokesperson
Formosan Association for Public Affairs Europe

Saturday, January 12, 2008

President Chen confers honor on EU parliamentarian

This article from the Taipei Times
article link

Legislative elections and referendums: President Chen confers honor on EU parliamentarian

By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Jan 12, 2008, Page 3
Taiwanese politicians should set aside their differences and agree on a united foreign affairs policy in order to safeguard the nation's diplomatic future, the chairman of the Taiwan Friendship Group at the European Parliament said yesterday.

Georg Jarzembowski, who is on his 11th visit to Taiwan, said after the "gun smoke" of the election has cleared, both the pan-blues and pan-greens should come together to formulate and define a "broadly based" foreign policy in an effort to gain the support of the nation's "powerhouse" friends, such as the US, Japan and the EU.

Jarzembowksi said the most important task for his group is to talk to the various parties to get their impression as to whether their opponents were cheating.

"We don't have any mistrust of the parties," he said.

His team are scheduled to visit two polling stations and the Central Election Commission today to monitor the vote-counting process.

EU OPPOSITION

When asked about the EU's opposition to the planned referendums on Taiwan's bid to join the UN, Jarzembowksi said he was aware of the two versions proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and he believed it was the right of the Taiwanese to determine how they wanted to be represented.

He said his group has initiated a motion at the European Parliament to support Taiwan's execution of the referendums. So far, over 100 parlimentarians have added their signatures to the motion, he said.

Jazermbowski also said the existing cross-strait tension is unlikely to be assuaged unless there is fresh dialogue between to the two governments.

He admitted, however, it would take much "patience" and time before a dialogue based on an equal footing would become a reality.

HONOR

Earlier yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) conferred an Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Jarzembowski to honor him for his contribution in enhancing the friendship between the European Parliament and Taiwan.

Chen expressed appreciation and gratitude to the European Parliament for its support in opposing the lifting of its embargo on arms to China, backing the nation's bid to join the WHO and in urging China to remove its missiles targeting Taiwan.

"I believe the reason the European Parliament has been very supportive of Taiwan is that Taiwanese share the same universal values as the Europeans, which are democracy, freedom and human rights," Chen said.

Jarzembowski said he sincerely appreciated the award because he has been urging the international community to recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan and has worked to improve relations between the European Parliament and Taiwan since he took up the position as head of the Taiwan Friendship Group of the European Parliament in 1999.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN