'Taiwan een provincie van China noemen is belachelijk' (en) - Main contents

(CNA) A visiting member of the European Parliament (MEP) said Tuesday that addressing Taiwan as a "province of China" is ridiculous, and expressed full support for Taiwan's protest against such a reference. Hans van Baalen made the comment in response to an internal letter issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) director-general's office in September 2010 that instructed its various agencies to use "Taiwan, province of China" whenever referring to Taiwan.

"You can either refer to Taiwan as the Republic of China or Taiwan... but the use of Taiwan, province of China, is ridiculous, " van Baalen told CNA.

"Most members refer to Taiwan as Taiwan, " the parliamentarian said, noting that although there is no rule in the European Parliament (EP) as to how Taiwan should be addressed, he himself always uses the term Taiwan when referring to the country.

Van Baalen is vice chairman of the EP-Taiwan Friendship Group and his four-day visit includes meetings with President Ma Ying-jeou, opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen, and various top government officials.

Earlier in the day, the chairman of the EP-Taiwan Friendship Group, Charles Tannock, wrote a letter of protest to the WHO's director-general, saying that the international body risks its own credibility and impartiality by referring to Taiwan as a province of China.

Tannock was quoted as saying in the letter that "the WHO's continued insistence on referring to Taiwan as a province of China therefore not only undermines the organization's credibility but risks calling into question your personal impartiality and integrity."

"We believe the WHO's position on Taiwan is politically and morally flawed," his letter states.

"We urge you to change the WHO's internal procedures and to refer to Taiwan as 'Chinese Taipei, ' the accepted nomenclature that Taiwan uses in other international organizations and structures."

The letter was signed by 20 other MEPs from various political groups. The parliament has more than 700 MEPs. (By Nancy Liu) ENDITEM/J