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47.
The PRC has demanded that Taiwan should change its official name in the Pacific Basin Economic Council from "Chinese Member Committee in Taipei" to "Chinese Taipei Member Committee of the PBEC". A Taiwan representative is expected to visit Peking early next year in order to discuss the matter with PRC officials (IMP 13 Oct, CT 25, 28 Oct).
48.
Foreign Minister Fredrick Chien expressed support for a Malaysian proposal for the holding of an East Asia Economic
Conference (UDN 14 Oct).
49.
The Commercial Times (15 Oct) reported that a US official had told Taipei representatives at the GATT working group that Washington is drafting a list of 8000 items on which it is calling for Taiwan to reduce tariffs. Taiwan representative Sheu Ke-sheng commented saying that the USA was in effect requesting Taiwan to lower tariffs on all import
items.
50.
The Board of Foreign Trade said that it had caught 40 firms engaged in the illegal transshipment of textiles over the past 3 years and had rescinded the licenses of 12 of the firms, also cancelling quotas allocated to them. According to EDN (19 Oct) the Board's actions had significantly reduced the volume of illegal transshipments to the USA.
51.
A Taiwan military procurement mission is to be set up in France, according to a report in Commons Daily (23 Oct).
52.
Taiwan government agencies are to prepare a medium and long-term environmental protection plan, which will call for strengthening of regional co-operation in environmental protection. Taiwan hopes to sponsor an Asian Clean Air conference in 1994 and an international Environmental Protection Exhibition in 1995, also possibly to host an APEC conference on pollution control during 1994 (Commercial Times 26 Oct).
53.
According to LT (26 Oct), passport racketeers in
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