Experts call for a return to family farming model

BAVARIA EXAMPLE:：Experts said that the government should encourage small-scale farming like the German state did, which also saw a lift in the number of tourists
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Mon, Apr 21, 2014 - Page 3

Agricultural experts yesterday called for more governmental engagement in revitalization of the family farming model to save the nation’s agricultural sector from the threat of the free-trade system and the failure of past policies.

With the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) designating this year the International Year of Family Farming, experts told a forum organized by the New Century Foundation that although Taiwan is not a UN member, it should take note of the organization’s ideas and make changes.

State must speak against China in UNHRC: parties

SELF-HARM:Staying silent on Beijing’s nomination to the UN rights body would undermine Taiwan’s ‘soft power,’ said 22 lawmakers from three political parties
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Legislators from across party lines yesterday demanded that the government publicly announce its opposition to China joining the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) due to what they said were Beijing’s notorious human rights violations.

The Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are advised to issue official statements opposing China’s acceptance on to the council and calling for UN members to vote against Beijing’s nomination, a proposal tabled by the lawmakers said.

Ma in ‘international legal suicide’

STATE MATTERS:：The president’s insistence on the ‘one China’ framework could signal to the international community that Taiwan no longer needs its protection, analysts said
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Mon, Jun 03, 2013 - Page 3

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent elaborations on the issue of Taiwan’s statehood, given the complex nature of the legal status of the Republic of China (ROC), was likely “international legal suicide” and a deception of the people of Taiwan, academics said in a forum last week.

Ma appears to have been self-conflicting and inconsistent in his interpretation of the cross-strait framework, Brad Roth, a professor of political science and law at Wayne State University in Michigan, told a forum organized by Taiwan Thinktank.

TSU to promote bid for participation as ‘Taiwan’ in UNFCCC

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday said it would promote a bid for Taiwan to participate in the UN Framework Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under its sovereign name with the collaboration of civic groups.

“President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pro-China position and his shelving of Taiwan’s sovereignty have resulted in people being confused about Taiwan’s sovereign status, which is why this initiative is imperative,” TSU Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) told a press conference.

Ma jeopardizing UN bid: critics

OFFICIAL RECOGNITION:Panelists at a forum on Taiwan’s independence said that Ma’s ‘diplomatic truce’ strategy has failed to bolster the country’s sovereignty drive
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Civic groups and academics yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for disregarding the bid for UN membership under the name Taiwan and warned that Ma’s inaction on the diplomatic front would jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty.

DPP chairman meets US diplomat on think-tank trip

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton yesterday said that Taiwan has an expanded role to play in the international community as well as in the US’ strategic pivot to Asia.

Taiwan getting full membership in the UN and having an expanded role in the international community would be “in the US’ interests,” said Bolton, who is leading a delegation of the American Enterprise Institute think tank on a visit to Taiwan.

He made the comments during the delegation’s meeting with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday.

Civic group to appeal in New York for Taiwan's U.N. bid

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) A pro-Taiwan independence civic group embarked Friday on a weeklong journey to New York City -- site of the United Nations General Assembly -- to advocate the country's right to bid for U.N. membership under the name Taiwan.

"The annual trip to New York marks a continued effort by the people of Taiwan since 1979 to express their wish to be recognized by the U.N., " said Cheng Ing-erh, a Presbyterian pastor and the leader of the 22-member group, said at a press conference.

Cheng said the trip, organized by the Taiwan United Nations Alliance and backed by Taiwan's Presbyterian Church, also represents opposition to President Ma Ying-jeou's current U.N. policy.

On Sept. 2, Deputy Foreign Minister Shen Ssu-tsun told a press conference that Taiwan is maintaining its goal of "meaningful participation" in international organizations, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) , this year, the third year Taiwan has implemented the policy since Ma took office in 2008.

Shen said Taiwan will keep appealing for continued global support for its bids to join international organizations rather than raising tension by directly bidding for U.N. membership. The policy shift, according to Shen, has paid dividends, evidenced in the dramatically reduced tension across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly in the past two years.

Taiwan has not been represented in the U.N. since 1971, when the Republic of China's seat was given to the People's Republic of China. Taiwan has tried unsuccessfully to have the world body consider the issue of its representation since 1993, but these efforts have always been blocked by Beijing.

The group is scheduled to stage a rally in New York, where the 65th U.N. General Assembly began Sept. 14, in which it will deliver speeches and distribute fliers to let more people understand the pro-independence group's position.

"The mission cannot be seen as a failure simply because Taiwan's U.N. bid has been denied over and over again, " said Yao Chia-wen, convener of the pro-independence Taiwan Nation Alliance, one of the protest group's supporting organizations.

The group is scheduled to return to Taiwan Sept. 25. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Taiwan reiterates goal of joining U.N. organizations

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Taiwan reiterated Thursday that it is aiming to achieve "meaningful participation" in international organizations and it appealed for continued global support for its bid to join two such organizations, two weeks ahead of the United Nations' annual General Assembly.

Deputy Foreign Minister Shen Ssu-tsun said at a news conference that the Taiwan government's strategy remains steady as it seeks to participate in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Taiwan has secured the support of various countries and organizations since last year, when the government listed entry to the UNFCCC and ICAO among its goals, he said.

International support for Taiwan's efforts in this direction has come from the European Parliament, the Australian Parliament, the United States Senate and 19 representatives of the U.S. Congress, he said.

Taiwan will also ask its diplomatic allies to state its case in the 65th session of the U.N. General Assembly, which is scheduled to open Sept. 14 in New York City and at the 37th ICAO Assembly which will be held in Montreal, Canada from Sept. 28-Oct. 8, Shen said.

The allies will also make a similar effort at the U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which will be held from Sept. 20-22, and the at ICAO Assembly, he said. An appeal will be made for Taiwan to be included in these bodies as part of the global cooperative effort on various issues, he added.

With respect to the 16th UNFCCC Conference of Parties to be held in Cancun, Mexico from Nov. 29-Dec. 10, Shen said, the ministry is still studying a proposal for that bid and will make an announcement at a later date.

Shen did not answer a question on whether Taiwan has a timetable for its entry to the UNFCCC and whether China has been putting up any roadblocks.

Taiwan has not been represented in the U.N. since 1971, when the Republic of China's seat was given to the People's Republic of China. Taiwan has tried unsuccessfully to have the world body consider the issue of its representation since 1993, but its efforts have been blocked by Beijing, which claims that Taiwan is part of China.

During the UNFCCC Conference in the Danish capital of Copenhagen last December, a China official voiced opposition to Taiwan's inclusion in the organization, citing Beijing's "one China principle."

He said that the initiatives by some nations in favor of Taiwan's bid to join the UNFCCC as an observer had "hurt the feelings of the 1.3 billion Chinese people."

However, since then, tensions across the Taiwan Strait have eased, particularly after the two sides signed a historic trade agreement in June -- a move that was welcomed by the international community.

Last month, Singapore and Taiwan jointly announced that they were studying the feasibility of a free trade agreement, which signaled a willingness on China's part to allow Taiwan more international space.

Shen said that in the wake of the cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement, he thinks China has a better understanding of Taiwan's position. Nonetheless, Taiwan will seek to win as much international support as possible before heading into the next phase, he said.

The Taiwan government said last September that the UNFCCC and the ICAO are the first two international organizations it will seek to join and that it has a three-phase plan toward that goal.

Shen did not elaborate on Taiwan's timetable or details of its phased strategy, saying only that it will be a continuing effort and that the foreign ministry will implement its plans based on the situation as it develops. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc

Taiwan pledges more participation in fishery organizations

Taipei, Aug. 3 (CNA) Government officials pledged during an international forum Tuesday to forge closer participation in international fishery organizations to prove Taiwan's commitment as a responsible member of the global fishery community.

"As an important player in the high seas fishing industry, Taiwan has been promoting its partnerships in various organizations, " Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Wu-hsiung said in his opening remarks at the opening ceremony.

The International Fishers' Forum (IFF), co-hosted by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, a U.S. federal organization tasked with managing and implementing laws governing fishing activity, and Taiwan's Fisheries Agency under the COA, has brought together officials and scholars from 25 countries for the three-day forum.

The forum is geared toward commercial fishery operators, management authorities, experts in marine spatial planning, fishing technology experts, seafood retailer representatives, marine ecologists and fisheries scientists.

Over the past decades, fishing has contributed greatly to Taiwan's food security and economic stability, said Fisheries Agency Director-General James Sha.

However, the country, which has one of the largest blue water fishing fleets in the world, has been accused several times of over-fishing and fish laundering by international fishery organizations.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) decided in 2005 to cut Taiwan's bigeye tuna fishing quota of 14,900 tons in that year by 70 percent to 4,600 tons. The sanction was not lifted until a year later.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan is full member of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna. It has cooperator status in the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the ICCAT.

In addition, it is an observer in the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission and an "invited expert" of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.

The government has fine-tuned its fishery policy to make sure international regulations are upheld and the sustainability of fish stocks is improved, Sha said, adding that the forum is hopeful of deciding upon a "Taipei statement" before its conclusion.

In addition to improving the sustainability of fish stocks and protected species with which these fisheries interact, the IFF also intends to bring the fishing industry into the relatively new dialogue of marine spatial planning and management -- a process that brings together multiple users of the ocean to decide on how to make best use of ocean resources.

"Marine spatial planning is a relatively new topic for us, but we are keen to understand more about it and do the best we can to make our industry better, " said Hsieh Wen-Jung, chairman of the Taiwan Deep Sea Tuna Longline Boat-Owners and Exporters Association. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Taiwan must do homework on international organizations: scholars

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) If Taiwan wants to actively engage in international participation in the absence of United Nations membership, it has to do its homework in order to better understand how international organizations work, scholars said over the weekend.

Having been forced out of the United Nations almost 40 years ago, Taiwan has come to realize the importance of participation in international organizations, especially U.N.-affiliated agencies, as a globalization movement is taking the world by storm, said National Chengchi University professor Vincent Chen.

The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 on Oct. 25, 1971 to recognize the People's Republic of China as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations" and expelled the representatives of the Republic of China.

"However, Taiwan still honors its responsibilities as a member of the international community and tries to make contributions even though it is not allowed into most international organizations," Chen said.

"The question is not why Taiwan should be allowed to participate in international organizations, but rather why shouldn't it, " said Chiu Ya-wen, an Assistant Research Fellow at the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI).

However, Taiwan has somehow lost its grip on how these organizations work, having been disconnected from the process for decades, Chiu said. That is why Taiwan needs to "do its homework" to better understand these international organizations, especially the UN and its affiliated agencies, she said.

"If we fail to do that, we won't know how these organizations function, what their decision-making processes are like, and what we can or cannot do in meetings, even if we gain recognition tomorrow as a UN full member," Chiu said.

Chen and Chiu are among more than a dozen scholars who have co-written a book on the UN's 15 specialized agencies.

Political issues aside, Taiwan can make a significant contribution to the international community, given the country's expertise in areas such as science and technology, medical service, public health management, and intellectual property rights (IPR) , said Hsu Chung-hsin, a law professor at National Cheng Kung University who wrote a chapter of a book on World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Taiwan made a breakthrough in its quest for active international participation last May when it attended the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer.

"As encouraging and meaningful as the WHA case was, we'd still prefer that Taiwan interact with the rest of the world as a full and permanent member of all international organizations," Chiu said.

She urged all Taiwanese officials, students and citizens to try to learn more about the fundamentals and mechanisms of international organizations so "we can be well-prepared for any positive developments."

Paris Club seeks help from Taiwan to cancel Haiti's debt

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) The Paris Club has approached Taiwan for help in canceling Haiti's international debt after the Caribbean country was ravaged by a magnitude 7 earthquake last week, sources familiar with the case told the Central News Agency Monday.

France, which chairs the group of financial officials from 19 wealthy countries that provides services such as debt relief and debt cancellation to indebted countries, has contacted Taiwan about the matter, sources said, noting that the debt that Haiti owes to Taiwan is usually donations in the forms of various collaboration programs.

According to a media report, Christine Lagarde, the French minister of economy, industry and employment, said last Friday she has contacted members of the Paris Club to discuss speeding up debt relief for Haiti.

Lagarde said she was also asking Taiwan and Venezuela, non-Paris Club members but major creditors of Haiti, to help in the debt relief effort.

"I am asking two other states, Taiwan and Venezuela... to also envisage the cancellation of their debt to Haiti... as a collective effort. This would be a good step for this country," Lagarde said.

The club said on its Web site that it had decided to cancel US$62.73 million of the country's debt in July 2009, and is committed on a bilateral and voluntary basis to cancel an additional US$152 million.

A spokesman of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) declined to comment on the report but said the government is planning to further review the contents and details of various bilateral cooperation programs with the Haitian government.

Civic groups and nongovernmental organizations in Taiwan have mobilized a donation effort that has collected 84 tons of relief meterial, including food, water, medical supplies and lighting equipment, worth over NT$12 million.

Seventy tons of these humanitarian supplies, the first shipment of Taiwan's nongovernmental relief supplies to Haiti, were scheduled to be shipped to Dominican Republic by a FedEx air cargo charter at 8:30 p.m. Monday.

On Sunday, Taiwan's first search and rescue team, which arrived in the disaster zone by land after being stuck in the Dominican Republic because of air traffic congestion in Port-au-Prince, successfully rescued a survivor on the second day of its operations.

The survivor was a Haitian security guard at the United Nations Peecekeeping Force's police dormitory who had been buried under the rubble for five days before being rescued.

Foreign delegates congratulate Taiwan's election success

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) Taiwan's presidential election was a good example of democracy and it could find new ways to participate in the international community, Taiwan-based foreign representatives said after the conclusion of the election.

Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou won in a landslide victory, garnering 2.2 million votes more than his rival Frank Hsieh, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate.

The victory returned the KMT to power eight years after its defeat to the DPP in 2000 ended more than five decades of uninterrupted rule.

"From the stand point of democracy, this ia a good election, " a senior European official who is based in Taipei said. Commenting on two referendum proposals that failed to pass, he said that Taiwanese people "understood the stake of the referendum."

"Never say never in politics. Taiwan can find its new way, avenue and opening to its participation in the international community," said Eric Suy-Verburg, former United Nations (U.N.) under secretary-general for legal affairs, who was among a foreign delegation to observe the election.

"You need to make friends who can support you position. Be patient, " he said.

Taiwan's democracy is a typical young democracy, he observed, saying that people were enthusiastic in the rallies and the atmosphere was similar as in 1996 -- Taiwan's first direct presidential election.

The ex-U.N. official said that the DPP-proposed referendum, which asked voters whether Taiwan should join the U.N. under the name "Taiwan, " is unrealistic for the time being, since the U.N. General Assembly will respond negatively under the obstruction of China.

The KMT proposal was more balanced because it offers greater flexibility on names, he said.

Both referendums, which were held alongside the presidential election, failed to pass because they did not meet the 50 percent turnout threshold.

U.S., China more concerned with referendums than presidential race

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) Results of the two referendum proposals regarding Taiwan's bid for membership in the United Nations -- not the results of Taiwan's presidential election -- are of greatest concern to China and the United States, academics said at a recent seminar.

"It seemed to me that China does not care who will win the presidential election in March. It is more concerned with the referendums, " Chiang Chi-chen, an assistant professor at Soochow University, said in a seminar held Friday on the prospects of cross-strait relations in 2008.

Two referendums on whether Taiwan should apply for U.N. membership under the name Taiwan, or return to the world body under the country's official title Republic of China, or any other feasible name, will be held alongside the presidential election March 22.

The landslide victory of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in the January Legislative election guarantees that the new president will have limited room to maneuver, regardless of who wins the presidency -- KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou or ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Frank Hsieh, Chiang said.

"There is little doubt that China will focus on the referendum issue this year, " said Wang Kun-yi, a professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.

There are four possible scenarios concerning the results of the presidential election and the referendum, said Chang Wu-ueh, chairman of the Friends of Hong Kong and Macau Association.

Beijing's preferred outcome will be seeing Ma elected with the DPP's proposal, which asks for popular approval of applying for U.N. membership under the name Taiwan, failing to pass, Chang said. He added that a Hsieh victory and passage of the DPP proposal is the scenario Beijing most dislikes.

While it's inappropriate to portray the DPP's proposal as an "independence referendum", which President Chen Shui-bian vowed not to hold in his 2000 inauguration speech, the U.S. and China both took it as a "provocative first step towards de jure independence", said Lin Cheng-yi, a researcher at Academia Sinica.

"Which was why both China and the U.S. have seen the referendum issue as more important than the presidential election, " Lin noted.

China is expected to keep pressuring Taiwan on the referendum issue through third countries ahead of the March election. It is also expected to try to influence swing voters and supporters of the KMT-led pan-blue alliance to vote in the referendum, Chang said.

It will best serve Taiwan's interests if at least one referendum passes, either that of the DPP or the KMT, Lin said.

"What kind of message will we be sending the world if both referendums fail to pass?" he asked.

Taiwan's U.N. referendum causes trouble: AIT Chairman

Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) All that Taiwan's United Nations (U.N.) referendum does is cause trouble, and it will box in Taiwan's next president, American Institute in Taipei Chairman Raymond Burghardt said Tuesday, reiterating the United States' opposition to the referendum.

"All it [the referendum] does is cause trouble, " Burghardt said in a round table with members of the local media. The top AIT official is concluding a visit to Taiwan during which he has met with President Chen Shui-bian, presidential candidates Ma Ying-jeou and Frank Hsieh, and other political figures.

It is the second harsh criticism of the proposed referendum leveled by a U.S. official within the last two weeks, following Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Thomas Christensen's remarks in a meeting with members of Taiwan's press Dec. 6 in Washington, D.C.

Christensen said that the United States supports Taiwan's having a wholesome democracy but that a bad democracy or a process packaged as democracy is not true democracy.

The referendum on the country applying to join the United Nations under the name Taiwan is a "clever way" of not violating the pledges that President Chen Shui-bian had made by going through the "back door, " but the United States still interprets it as a violation, he said.

Even if it did not go against the "four noes" pledge, it "came pretty close sometimes, " he added.

Taiwanese officials have described the referendum as a vote against unification with China and for sovereignty, which is more than the contents of the referendum itself, he said.

The United States has the highest regard for Taiwan's democracy, but the referendum unnecessarily threatens cross-strait stability, which has been the United States' main concern in the region, he said.

However, he noted that the United States does value Chen's reassurance Monday of keeping his promises and ensuring a peaceful transition of power after the presidential election next year and has asked China to be patient and show self-restraint ahead of the election.

Burghardt said his meeting with Chen could be summarized as making sure the new president, regardless of who it is, has the chance to be his own man to deal with the cross-straight issue and is not "boxed-in."

The referendum is not fair to the next president not only because holding the referendum will make things difficult for him but also because if it is passes, this will make his job even harder, Burghardt said, adding that the intention of holding the referendum is to bind the hands of Chen's successor.

"The referendum also affects the cross-strait atmosphere and the attitude of the region," he said.

The results of the referendum will not change Washington's one-China policy, even though Chen has said passage of the referendum would prove the policy wrong, Burghardt pointed out.

Responding to a question regarding how the United States will react to the results of the referendum, Burghardt said that it will be important to watch and listen carefully to who says what before, during and after the referendum. Remarks and responses from Chen, both presidential candidates and other countries will be closely monitored, he added.

Burghardt did not directly answer the question posed by a reporter about whether China has "outsourced" the work of containing Taiwan to the United States, but he admitted that the Hu Jintao administration has been more adept and sophisticated in dealing with trilateral relations between the United States, Taiwan and China.