TAIPEI--Taiwan said it would opt in while Japan and Canada
stayed on the sidelines as a deadline passed Tuesday for joining a
China-led development bank, though signals from Taiwanese officials
that Taipei would set conditions on its membership status raised
possible complications for a final agreement.
Taiwan is among a number of U.S. allies that have said they want
to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank--an international
development bank designed to finance road, rail, port and other
construction projects--despite concerns from Washington about its
governance and transparency.
The AIIB is seen as critical to China's efforts to use economic
development to place itself at the center of a new Asian order.
Washington sees it as a potential rival to the World Bank and other
institutions where the U.S. holds greater sway.
The U.K., Germany and France also are seeking AIIB
membership.
Fresh from meetings with top Chinese officials in Beijing, U.S.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew criticized the pace of Beijing's
economic overhauls Tuesday but was more conciliatory on the AIIB,
saying that the U.S. welcomed the bank. "I was encouraged by my
conversations in Beijing in which China's leaders made clear that
they aspire to meet high standards and welcome partnership," Mr.
Lew said in a speech to the Asia Society Northern California.
Japan indicated it would let pass Tuesday's deadline for
applying to become a founding member of AIIB, though it didn't rule
out joining later. Canada said Tuesday it was still considering
whether to participate.
Though Taipei said it would apply to join, some Taiwanese
officials indicated its membership name could be an issue. Taiwan
officials said they had submitted a letter of intent to join the
bank to Chinese authorities, using simply the name "Taiwan." It
wasn't clear what name Taiwan would use when filing a formal
application for membership, or whether Chinese officials would
stick to that name.
In a statement, China's Taiwan Affairs office said it received
the letter and didn't see a problem with Taiwanese membership,
depending on the name. "The AIIB is open and accommodating, and we
welcome Taiwan's participation with an appropriate name."
Earlier Tuesday, Premier Mao Chi-kuo told lawmakers that Taiwan
would rather not join the AIIB if Taiwan isn't respected or doesn't
enjoy the same rights as other members.
"Our [membership] name has to be reviewed and accepted by all
our people, " Mr. Mao said. "Our bottom line is the ones that are
already widely used internationally."
Nomenclature is a sensitive issue in Taiwan. Under pressure from
China, which sees Taiwan as a renegade province, the island of 23
million people has been competing in international sporting events
as "Chinese Taipei" and joined the World Trade Organization as "the
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and
Matsu."
In 1986, after China joined the Asian Development Bank, the
institution changed Taiwan's membership name to "Taipei, China,"
from "Chinese Taipei." The change met with protest from Taiwan's
government, which said the name suggested Taiwan was under China's
jurisdiction. But the change went into effect, and Taiwan is still
a member of the ADB.
Tuesday night, dozens of protesters scuffled with police outside
the Presidential Office building. Protesters said President Ma
Ying-jeou, who announced the plan, didn't consult the public on it
and has denigrated Taiwan's sovereignty by submitting the letter of
intent.
Taiwan's government has internally discussed joining the AIIB
since January, the presidential office said Tuesday. Officials
including the central bank governor and finance minister in recent
weeks have publicly backed the move, saying it would foster the
island's international profile and economic development, while
Taiwan's businesses would benefit from increased infrastructure
spending in the region.
On the sidelines of the regional Boao Forum in China's Hainan
province last week, Vincent Siew, Taiwan's former vice president,
expressed the island's intent to join the AIIB during a closed-door
meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Taiwan's official China
News Agency reported Sunday.
Chen Deming, China's top negotiator with Taiwan, told reporters
at Boao that Beijing "does not see any difficulty" in Taiwan
joining the institution.
Some observers said Beijing could exert more influence over
Taiwan through the institution, on top of other cross-Strait trade
agreements signed over the past few years.
"The AIIB is a China-centric institution and China undoubtedly
will try to exert its power over Taiwan through it. But since the
operation of the bank remains opaque, for now we have no idea how
to quantify that impact," said Hao Pei-chih, a public-policy
professor at National Taipei University in Taiwan.
Chen Chien-jen, Taiwan's former foreign minister, was more
sanguine about the move. "There are dozens of founding members and
China probably cannot exert too much control over the bank just by
itself."
Cross-Strait relations have warmed since 2008, as President Ma
has supported dozens of trade agreements with China, Taiwan's
biggest export destination. But defeats for Mr. Ma's party, the
ruling Kuomintang, in local elections late last year have
complicated such ties.
Fanny Liu in Taipei and Lilian Lin in Beijing contributed to
this article
Write to Aries Poon at aries.poon@wsj.com
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