The government is mulling a plan to file a lawsuit against the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for its erroneous designation of Taiwan as a province of China, diplomatic sources said on August 3. The lawsuit plan came after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon recently rejected President Chen Shui-bian's letter expressing Taiwan's intention to apply for U.N. membership under the name of Taiwan on the grounds that Taiwan is part of China.
An increasing number of international organizations and enterprises have also wrongly identified Taiwan as a province of China in recent years as they refer to the ISO's codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions (ISO-3166), the sources noted. Taiwan has long been negotiating with the ISO over the designation issue but has not received any positive response from the ISO, the sources said, adding that the government has had to consider a legal battle as the last resort.
ISO officials have pointed out that they did not coin the term but rather simply follow the policy of the United Nations when it formulated ISO-3166 in 1974. Describing the ISO's use of "Taiwan, China" as an "infringement of Taiwan's name right, " diplomatic officials predicted that Geneva courts will accept the lawsuit, as the ISO is not an official international organization. But the officials added that it remains uncertain when a lawsuit will be formally filed.
The Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards bodies. Founded on Feb. 23, 1947, the organization produces world-wide industrial and commercial standards. While the ISO defines itself as a non-governmental organization (NGO), its ability to set standards that often become law, either through treaties or national standards, makes it more powerful than most NGOs. In practice, the ISO acts as a consortium with strong links to governments. As of fall 2006, there are 158 members, each of which represents one country.
(Source: Central News Agency)
