臺灣因名份之爭無緣亞投行

Taiwan will not join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member, a Chinese official signaled on Monday, as a disagreement over what the island would be called has not been resolved.

一位中國官員週一示意，由於對用什麼名稱的分歧一直沒有解決，臺灣將不作爲創始成員加入亞洲基礎設施投資銀行(Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank)。

Taiwan submitted a letter of intent on March 31 to join the institution as a founding member. Although Beijing welcomed Taiwan’s participation, it said it must do so under an “appropriate name,” indicating that disagreements over the contentious issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty were likely.

臺灣在3月31日提交了作爲創始成員加入亞投行的意向書。北京雖然歡迎臺灣的參與，但表示，臺灣必須以“適當名義”加入，這表明在對臺灣主權這個有爭議問題上可能有分歧。

“Recently, we’ve taken note of the Taiwan side’s views towards participation, name and other questions,” Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a written statement on Monday. “We are willing to continue listening to all parties’ opinions and properly resolve the questions regarding Taiwan’s participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”

國務院臺灣事務辦公室發言人馬曉光週一在一份書面聲明中說，“近期，我們也注意到臺灣方面就其參與的方式、名義等問題發表了看法，我們願意繼續聽取各方面意見，以妥善解決臺灣方面參與亞投行的問題。”

The statement confirmed a report in the Chinese state news media that Taiwan would not join the bank as a founding member, but said that it could still join as an ordinary member.

該聲明證實了中國國家新聞媒體的一篇報道，報道稱臺灣不會作爲創始成員加入亞投行，但仍可以作爲普通成員加入。

Taiwan and China split after the end of China’s civil war in 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces fled to the island. China considers the self-ruled island as part of its territory, and it has not ruled out the use of force to prevent Taiwan’s formal independence. China has used its clout to limit Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, often forcing it to use names that imply Chinese sovereignty, such as “Chinese Taipei,” under which Taiwan participates in the Olympic Games and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

1949年，中國內戰結束後，蔣介石帶領國民黨軍隊逃到臺灣，從此臺灣與中國大陸分裂。中國認爲，自治的臺灣仍是中國領土的一部分，並不排除使用武力以阻止臺灣的正式獨立。中國利用自己的影響力限制臺灣對國際組織的參與，常常迫使臺灣使用暗示中國主權的名稱，比如“中華臺北”，這是臺灣參加奧運會和亞太經合組織論壇時用的名稱。

Taiwan officials had said “Chinese Taipei” was acceptable for its membership in the bank. Beijing has not said what name it wanted Taiwan to use in the organization.

臺灣官員曾表示，可以接受以“中華臺北”的名義成爲亞投行成員。北京對希望臺灣以什麼名稱加入該組織並未做出表示。

The Mainland Affairs Council, which is in charge of Taiwan’s policy toward China, said on Monday that it “regrets” that Taiwan cannot join the bank in the first round, but it said that Taiwan was still eager to join as long as its rights were guaranteed.

臺灣負責中國政策的行政院大陸委員會週一說，臺灣對不能在第一輪加入亞投行表示“遺憾”，但表示，只要臺灣的權益得到保障，仍渴望加入。

The United States has criticized the bank and pressured its allies not to participate in the project, but the flood of countries that have signed on seems to have surprised even the Chinese organizers. Forty-six countries, including American allies like Australia, Britain and South Korea, have agreed to become founding members of the bank.

美國曾批評成立亞投行，並向其盟國施壓，讓它們不要參加該項目，但是，各國紛紛表示參與似乎讓組織者中國都感到了驚訝。目前已有46個國家表示願意成爲亞投行的創始成員，其中包括如澳大利亞、英國、韓國等美國盟友。

A spokesman for President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan said last month that membership in the bank would increase Taiwan’s global recognition, improve its integration in the regional economy and help it join other international organizations. But Prime Minister Mao Chi-kuo said Taiwan “would rather not participate” if it could not join with “dignity” and “equality.”

臺灣總統馬英九的一位發言人上個月表示，加入亞投行將會增加全球對臺灣的認可，促進臺灣融入區域經濟，也會對臺灣加入其他國際組織有幫助。但行政院院長毛治國表示，如果不能在有“尊嚴”、“平等”的條件下加入，臺灣“就不參加”。

Taiwan became a founding member of the Asian Development Bank under its formal name, the Republic of China. But when the People’s Republic of China joined in 1986, the bank changed Taiwan’s designation to “Taipei, China.” Taiwan boycotted the bank for a period, in protest.

臺灣以其正式名稱“中華民國”成爲亞洲開發銀行(Asian Development Bank)的創始成員。但是，當中華人民共和國在1986年加入時，亞洲開發銀行把臺灣的名稱改爲“中華臺北”，臺灣曾有一段時間拒絕出席該銀行的會議，以示抗議。