|
ˇ@
NOAA stops referring to Taiwan as
Chinese Taipei
FAPA PREVAILS: Following the devastating Feb. 27
earthquake in Chile, the US agency issued a tsunami alert in which it referred
to Taiwan as ˇĄChinese Taipeiˇ¦
By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER , WASHINGTON
Sunday, Apr 11, 2010, Page 3
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has stopped
referring to Taiwan as ˇ§Chinese Taipeiˇ¨ in official documents in response to a
complaint from the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA).
The complaint was lodged following the earthquake in Chile about six weeks ago
when there were fears that a resulting tsunami could reach Taiwan.
At the time, the NOAA issued a tsunami alert in which it referred to Taiwan as
Chinese Taipei.
In a letter to the NOAA ˇX an agency affiliated with the US Department of
Commerce ˇX FAPA president Bob Yang (·¨^¨|) said that it was an ˇ§incontestable
reality that Taiwan is not a part of China.ˇ¨
He said that in 1996 the US State Department issued a memorandum saying that
since the US had no diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, US
officials should refer to the country as ˇ§Taiwan.ˇ¨
At a later date, William Burns, executive secretary of the State Department at
the time, ruled that ˇ§consistent with the unofficial nature of US-Taiwan ties,
we refer to Taiwan simply as Taiwan.ˇ¨
Yang told NOAA that it was ˇ§of concern to my membersˇ¨ that the organization was
referring to Taiwan as Chinese Taipei.
ˇ§I respectfully request that NOAA adopt the long-established US State Department
guidelines consistent with US national policies and correct this factual error,ˇ¨
wrote Yang.
In response, Dan Thompson, director of international activities at NOAA, said
that after consulting with the American Institute in Taiwan, the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center had ˇ§correctedˇ¨ its database and that in future it would refer to
Taiwan by its proper name ˇX Taiwan.
ˇ§We are pleased with the outcome,ˇ¨ a FAPA official said.
ˇ@
|
