European Union leaders said Wednesday they oppose President Chen Shui-bian's plan to hold a national referendum on whether the island should seek membership in the United Nations (U.N.), in a move that backs China's position. The 27-member delegation is in Beijing for the annual Sino-European summit, aiming at improving foreign firms' access and treatment in the Chinese market.
"The referendum would change the status quo for the worse," said Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates in Beijing while at a joint briefing with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Portugal currently holds the post in EU's rotating presidency.
"We have reaffirmed the EU's traditional position of a united China, to try to find a negotiated solution and have peaceful dialogue," he added.
Prior to this, EU leaders merely reiterated the 27-member bloc's adherence to its "one China" policy, which sets Beijing as its sole Chinese political partner.
Socrates and Wen thus found common ground on the Taiwan issue at an EU-China summit, amid disagreements over trade and human rights. The EU planned to press China for improvement on its human rights record at a state dinner that evening, Socrates said. EU finance chiefs also urged China to allow its currency to appreciate to relieve pressure on European exporters.
There was no discussion of the EU arms embargo, which the EU has imposed since leaders in Beijing cracked down on student activists in the 1989 Tiananmen incident, he said.
China appreciates the EU's support on the Taiwan issue, Wen said. "China thinks a strong Europe is important to world peace and stability," he said.
Wen also reiterated China's position that it doesn't oppose dialogue with exiled Tibetan leader Dalai Lama, as "long he recognizes Tibet is an inseparable part of China." Still, China is discouraging EU leaders from meeting him because he's "seeking Tibetan independence," Wen said.
Contacted by telephone that evening, MOFA acting spokesperson Phoebe Yeh declined to comment on the EU's statement, but weighed the possibility that Japanese leaders might also make unfavorable comments on the planned U.N. referendum in the near future, as part of "united front tactics" used by the Chinese government.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy unexpectedly claimed Monday that France opposes Taiwan's contentious plan to hold a referendum on U.N. membership next year.
Further, the U.N. secretariat decided Tuesday not to acknowledge the letter jointly sent by Taiwan's 12 diplomatic allies asking U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to deal impartially with Taiwan's application for membership under the name "Taiwan." The U.N.'s Office of Legal Affairs received the letter Sep. 25 and deliberated a month before rejecting it based on the same interpretation of U.N. Resolution 2758.
In the letter, Taiwan's diplomatic allies said that Nicolas Michel, the under-secretary-general for Legal Affairs at the U.N., misinterpreted the U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 and viewed Taiwan as a part of China.
They also stressed that U.N. Secretariat officials do not have the right to decide on a new membership application. On the contrary, Ban should remain impartial in his capacity as the U.N. secretary-general and abide by the U.N. Charter and relevant regulations in processing Taiwan's membership application, they said.
"For the first time, Taiwan applied to the world body for membership under the name of Taiwan, -- rather than its official title, the Republic of China," Yeh went on, adding that the country has successfully received the support of the international community.
The 12 diplomatic allies that jointly sent the letter were St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Palau, the Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tuvalu, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Belize, and Honduras.
Meanwhile, Taiwan dropped objections Tuesday to the appointment of a Chinese lawyer as World Trade Organization (WTO) judge after receiving "assurances" that all judges would abide by regulations and withheld influence from their member country, also confirmed Yeh.
Taiwan, which had expressed deep concerns over the impartiality of Zhang Yuejiao, decided to "show some flexibility" after all parties reached an "amicable solution," according to a statement issued by Taiwan's permanent mission to the WTO.
Taiwan's opposition to Zhang's appointment left the agenda of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) under the authority of the WTO suspended for one week.
Sources in Geneva said that over the past week, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy and DSB Chairman Bruce Gosper repeatedly reassured Taipei over Taiwan's rights and privileges. In particular, Lamy wrote a letter to Taiwan's minister of economic affairs, Steve R.L. Chen, to explain the WTO's position on the issue, the sources said.
According to a statement released by the WTO, Zhang will begin her four-year term June 1, 2008, along with Lilia R. Bautista of the Philippines, Jennifer Hillman of the United States and Shotaro Oshima of Japan.
The 63-year-old Zhang is a professor of law at China's Shantou University. She is an arbitrator on China's International Trade and Economic Arbitration Commission and practices law as a private attorney, the statement said.
Representatives of more than 10 WTO members, including the United States, European Union and Japan, reiterated their confidence in the impartiality of the Appellate Body and expressed their affirmation of Taiwan's efforts and flexibility in trying to solve the problem.
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