MOFA protests downgrading in int'l bodies

Local media reported yesterday that Taiwan has been downgraded at the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

The Chinese-language newspaper the Liberty Times ran a story yesterday saying that Taiwan was originally listed as a national member on the SRA website, but it has now been moved to the regional member category, allegedly because of China's suppression.

Another downgrading happened at the annual meeting of the IATTC, which was held last month in Antigua, Guatemala. During the meeting, the Chinese representatives refused to have Taiwan's national flag on display or any mention of the nation's official name, the Republic of China, the report said.

“Our representatives immediately lodged strong protest against these actions of downgrading our nation's status,” Yang said during a legislative session yesterday.

However, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers believe that the two incidents indicate that Chinese suppression will continue despite the ruling Kuomintang's claims that both sides are on good terms — especially after the signing of the cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).

Yang also acknowledged that if Beijing continues to suppress Taiwan's involvement in the international arena, the cross-strait relations that have been thawing in recent years would face further challenges.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers yesterday continued to criticize Yang for the missing national flags and banners without any mention of National Day at a dinner party hosted by the Foreign Ministry to celebrate the nation's 99th anniversary in Vietnam.

The annual event originally had a Chinese-language banner stating that the reception was being held to celebrate the 99th year of the Double Ten National Day but this was later changed to “Celebration of the 99th Year of Double Ten Day.”

Yang yesterday reiterated that the Hanoi office had handled the decorations in a similar fashion at events since 2007 — during the then-ruling DPP administration.

Premier Wu Den-yih previously acknowledged that the problem could be due to Chinese pressure. DPP legislators believed the treatment offers another indication that Beijing will continue to pressure Taiwan to drop its national symbols internationally, despite warming economic relations.

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