April 14, 2015
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.
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.
Prime Minister Mao Chi-kuo said Taiwan "would rather not participate” in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank if it could not join with “dignity” and “equality."
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
