By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said upon her return to Taiwan yesterday that she did not want to speculate as to why Cuba denied her entry on the same day she was appointed the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) interim chairperson.
Speaking at Kaohsiung International Airport in the morning, Chen said the Cuban authorities did not explain why the country denied her entry, but she did not think the decision was connected to her appointment.
Taipei, March 25 (CNA) The term "climate refugees" became a much talked about issue when it was raised in Taiwan recently following massive damage and loss of life resulting from natural disasters, as well as in President Ma Ying-jeou's ongoing trip to Taiwan's six South Pacific allies.
Discussions about the possible climate refugee phenomenon increased after Typhoon Morakot devastated parts of southern Taiwan last August.
This is partly why a locally produced global warming documentary titled "Plus or Minus Two Degrees Celsius, " inspired by the 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" produced by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, attracted attention and sparkled public debate over its prediction of an apocalyptic future for Taiwan.
According to the film, the people of Taiwan will be among the first climate refugees -- or "environmentally induced migration" as some prefer to call it -- if the environmental situation keeps deteriorating and protection measures are not immediately put in place.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) , an advocacy organization, claimed in a 2009 report that nearly 10 percent of the world's population is at risk from displacement by climate change. Around 26 million have already had to move, a figure that the EJF predicts could have grown to 150 million by 2050.
The impact of climate change became one of the key themes during Ma's South Pacific trip. He talked about helping Taiwan's allies to fight climate change and rising sea levels. For Kiribati and Tuvalu, global warming is a life-threatening disaster because it is causing rising sea levels that could eventually submerge their homelands, according to some scientists.
"We will help seek possible solutions to the global warming that is causing rising sea levels that could eventually submerge Kiribati, " Ma said during a meeting with Kiribati President Anote Tong.
He also noted that according to research, ancestors of the Austronesian people now living in the South Pacific emigrated from Taiwan some 3,000 years ago.
"We will probably return to Taiwan someday, " Tong responded.
Benjamin T.H. Ho, Taiwan's ambassador to Kiribati, said in a recent interview with CNA that the Kiribati government has devised a plan for "relocation of the whole country" in the event of a disaster and has also been lobbying for more international aid for its life-and-death battle against global warming.
According to the ambassador, Kiribati was exploring whether any country in the world would be willing to provide land or an island to accommodate its total population of about 100,000.
Ho said the plan does not seem feasible. Although Australia and New Zealand are willing to accept immigrants from Kiribati, they would not do so without any prerequisites.
Ho said that in his view, apart from offering vocational training, Taiwan could play a more active role in Kiribati's relocation plan by opening its doors to workers from there.
The ambassador said he had already discussed the proposal with the Council of Labor Affairs and that the plan is likely be implemented if the Kiribati government is willing to set up a fund to offer low-interest loans for prospective Kiribati workers to travel to Taiwan. The travel cost is about US$300 per person, which Ho said could be repaid through phased deductions from the workers' wages.
While Tuvalu also faces the threat of rising sea levels, its government has not been as active as Kiribati's in seeking national relocation. "The Tuvalu government is reluctant to talk about national relocation because it fears its people will panic, " according to James C.K. Tien, Taiwan's ambassador to Tuvalu.
Asked about the possibility of Taiwan accepting climate refugees, Ger Baushuan, deputy secretary-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) , said the ministry has not heard of anything related to the issue and has no such plans.
Ger pointed out that these South Pacific countries traditionally maintain closer relationships with Australia and New Zealand because of proximity, history and culture.
The New Zealand Foreign Ministry states on its website that its immigration policy does allow for a limited number of people from Pacific countries including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and Tuvalu to gain residency in New Zealand. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J
Taipei, March 16 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou will have a packed schedule on his first official trip to the South Pacific next week, during which he will discuss among other topics the impact of climate change, unveil a number of collaboration projects and promote Taiwan-made products.
Ma will visit six of Taiwan's diplomatic allies -- the Solomon Islands, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu -- from March 21-27.
His itinerary will include meetings with his counterparts on issues such as fishery cooperation, climate change, energy resource development and vocational training. All of these topics were tailored based on the needs of each country, said Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang at a press conference.
In the Marshall Islands, the focus will be on providing medical services, especially cataract surgeries, while in Kiribati it will be on Taiwan's efforts to establish a fishery cultivation center there.
Taiwan will work with Tuvalu authorities on vocational training for fishermen, collaborate with Palau on indigenous cultural exchanges, set up an agricultural program in Nauru, and discuss with Solomon Islands officials prospects for the development of alternative energy there.
In addition, Yang said, President Ma will take the opportunity to promote Taiwan-made products.
To this end, the president will take mobile phones made by HTC, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of smartphones, as gifts for high-ranking officials of the six countries and promote solar cells made by Motech Industries, one of the top ten solar cell manufacturers in the world.
Acknowledging that the use of such devices might be limited in the six countries because of the lack of 3G mobile telecommunication infrastructure, Yang said that the idea is to promote Taiwanese products.
Those phones "can take good, high-resolution photos," he said.
Meanwhile, the MOFA has already shipped two Luxgen MPV cars -- Taiwan's first automobile brand made by the Yulon Group -- to Taiwan embassies in Kiribati and the Solomon Islands to replace older vehicles.
The idea is to replace older cars and at the same time display the Taiwan-made products to foreigners, Yang said. The ministry could do the same at all Taiwanese embassies abroad to promote Taiwan-made automobiles, he added.
"Diplomacy also includes the promotion of local products and trade opportunities," he stressed. In a departure from former President Chen Shui-bian's format of arranging a leaders' summit in one of the six South Pacific countries, Ma's will make separate state visits to all six nations, Yang noted.
President Ma wants to show his sincerity in deepening friendship and boosting cooperation with the allies, Yang said.
Ma and his 90-member entourage will make a one-hour transit stop March 22 in Guam on the outward leg of the trip and a 90-minute stop on their return, according to Yang.
The delegation will travel aboard a China Airlines 737-800 plane. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc