[Reuters]

Published date: 27th Apr 1988

27 April 1988

Reuters News

English

(c) 1988 Reuters Limited

MANILA, April 27, Reuter – Taipei has ended a two-year boycott of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) but its dispute over a name-change by the bank continues, Central Bank Governor Chang Chi-Cheng said on Wednesday. The boycott was triggered in 1986 when China was admitted as an ADB member and the bank changed Taiwan’s name to “Taipei, China.” Chang is leading a 10-member delegation to the bank’s annual meeting starting on Thursday in Manila. “We still want to have a just and reasonable solution agreeable with everybody,” he said in an interview. Taiwan, an ADB founder member, has not borrowed any funds from the Manila-based bank since 1980. Asked whether Taiwan, with its huge trade surplus and foreign exchange reserves, might take on a new role as a donor to the bank, Chang said: “We will be happy to consider it if there is the need.” “At the same time, we do not like this unfair treatment of arbitrarily redesignating our name,” he said. “This name arbitrarily adopted by the ADB does not have our consent. The name of my country is the Republic of China. It is only the ADB president who has changed it.” At a reception given for delegates by the ADB’s Japanese president, Masao Fujioka, the Taiwanese stood out with their red and blue flags prominently pinned to their lapels. Delegates from Peking, mostly wearing business suits, also attended the reception but there was no sign of any contact between them and those from Taipei. Chang said he would continue talks with the bank on an end to the row. “We are going to play an active role in the ADB,” he said. “We think as a member we have a right to exercise our power. On the other hand, as a member, I think we have an obligation to help the multilateral financial institutions like the ADB to promote the economic development of this region.” Bank officials say it was be the first time both Taiwan and China were attending the same international monetary conference. Taiwan lost its seat on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank when it was expelled from the United Nations in 1971 on the admission of China. Asked whether Taiwan would attend next year’s ADB annual meeting in Peking, Chang said: “We will see when the time comes.” He said he had put the name dispute aside to discuss with Fujioka at a meeting the possible uses of the one billion dollar Overseas Economic Cooperation and Development Fund approved recently by the Taiwanese government. “We will explore the possibilities of using this fund together with ADB resources to help finance some of the projects in this region,” Chang said. He said for the first year the government would appropriate 100 million dollars “to begin with”. “We have not set up the rules and terms as yet,” he said. “I told Mr Fujioka that if he has any definite suggestions as to how this money could be best used, we would welcome his suggestions.”