Were you aware of this...?

Were you aware of the fact...? New Taiwan, Ilha Formosa The EU Parliament and Taiwan Prize of Freedom for Chen Shuibian Brief history of Taiwan Let a new Taiwan enter the United Nations Taiwan Security Research How Chinese are the Taiwanese? Taiwan, China and the Military The Chinese democracy movement and Taiwan Peaceful Coexistence: Two Nations, two systems Interview with Lee Teng-hui by Voice of Germany Taiwan Association White Paper - Taiwan and its future Literature Links Maps on Taiwan Forum
			...that the Chinese communists did by no means always maintain that Taiwan was a part of China? In an interview with the American journalist Edgar Snow in 1936, Mao Zedong supported independence of Taiwan, also in 1941 the later Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai spoke of Taiwan as a "nation state" like Korea: --> more
			...that the Chinese contention that based on the Cairo declaration of 1943 and the Potsdam Agreement of 1945 Taiwan was restored to China - and thereby to the People's Republic of China (as stated recently by Jiang Zemin during his visit to Brandenburg in Germany in April 2002) - is a case of blatant falsification of history? --> more
			...that the German Federal Government in practice endorses the so-called "One-China-policy", at the time of establishing diplomatic relations with China, however, this was in no way laid down in writing? The whole subject was not touched in the communiqué.
			...that since April 2001, the Federal Government of Germany categorically turns down any Taiwanese requests for arms sales for its defence without further discussion, even if such sales only imply subcontractual sales for US-projects? Such requests shall not even be discussed any more within the so-called "Bundessicherheitsrat" ("Federal Security Council" - a decision making forum of the core cabinet), as was the case with the submarine export project that was rejected in 1993. ---> more (article in "tageszeitung" - German - April 26th, 2001)
			...that high-ranking politicians from Taiwan, including President CHEN Shui-pien and Vice-President (Annette) LÜ Hsiu-lien even as a private person are not granted transit visa to EU member states? In terms of protocol they are treated in the same way as election forger Robert Mugabe from Zimbabwe and high officials of his regime, for whom an entry ban to the EU is in force.
			...that the German government, reacting to pressure from Peking, blocked a 50 million Euro deal for the sale of a surveillance satellite to Taiwan by the German aerospace company DASA, and that finally the French company MATRA went ahead? (At the same time the red-green coalition government okayed the disputed delivery of a tank for test purposes to the Turkish armed forces) --> more (article in "Stuttgarter Nachrichten" - German - Oct. 26th, 1999)
			...that software systems in use with authorities in Germany (such as the software COMVOR used by the police in the city of Hamburg) are programmed in such a way, that when entering the word "Taiwan" the user is automatically led to the entry "People's Republic of China", leading many an officer to the assumption that he encountered a programming error?
			...that Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bien was awarded the "Prize of Freedom" by the Liberal International in 2001, but neither Denmark nor France granted him a visa to have the chance to receive the Prize? --> more
			...that Taiwan fulfilled the prerequisites for entry to the WTO as early as May 1999 and the obligations undertaken went far beyond the minimum standards for WTO entry, however, due to reasons of Chinese prestige, Taiwan was to be admitted only after admittance of China to the WTO? China was admitted on Nov. 10th, 2001, Taiwan was admitted one day after on Nov. 11th, 2001 under the designation "Customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Chinmen and Matsu", --> more (article in "Die Welt" - German) and (EU parliament)
			(compiled by G. Whittome)

			German / English / Chinese Do know of any other examples? Send us a mail! -->