The Mainland Affairs Council
said Monday that Mongolia is not included in the country”s territory under the
Republic of China (Taiwan) Constitution, citing previous statements by the
Ministry of the Interior.

The council made the clarification after a
legislative hearing earlier Monday during which Mainland Affairs Minister Lai
Shin-yuan was shown three maps and asked to point to the one showing “the territory
of the Republic of China according to its existing national boundaries,”
as described by the country”s Constitution.

The three maps presented by Legislator Tsai
Chi-chang of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) included one
showing Mongolia and mainland China as one country, another showing the two as
separate countries, and the third being a map of Taiwan.

Lai picked the second option but was criticized
by Chen Chi-mai, a DPP lawmaker, for choosing the one of the People”s Republic
of China.

The council defended Lai”s choice, however, by
pointing to the Interior Ministry”s regulations on maps, which began treating
Mongolia as a country independent of China after Taiwan set up a representative
office there in 2002.

At that time under a DPP administration,
Interior Minister Yu Cheng-hsien cited the Enforcement Rules for the Act
Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area in
supporting the decision to amend the map regulations.

The rules define the ROC”s mainland area as the
region under the rule of the Communist Party of China.

Mongolia became an independent country in 1945
after the ROC government signed a treaty with the former Soviet Union.

The ROC government then revoked its recognition
of Mongolia”s independence after the treaty was abolished by the Legislature in
1953 because of a breach of the deal by the Soviet Union.

By Chai Sze-chia and Kay Liu

Source: http://focustaiwan.tw