The US has rebuffed Chinese objections to the visit of Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said that the visit was a private one and that ministerial-level Taiwan officials have been allowed to visit the US in the past.
Boucher also indicated he would not rule out a meeting between Tang and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly during Tang's visit. Kelly is slated to attend the conference.
The State Department granted Tang a visa on Wednesday to attend a defense conference in St. Petersburg, Florida organized by the private US-Taiwan Business Council, an association of companies promoting trade and investment ties between the US and Taiwan. Tang arrived in the US on Saturday.
Furious that the US issued Tang a visa, Beijing's Foreign Ministry Thursday summoned US Ambassador Clark Randt to complain. Junior Foreign Minster Zhou Wenzhong (周文重), who met with Randt, called the visa an "open violation" of agreements between Washington and Beijing and warned the visit would "damage both Sino-US relations and relations across the Taiwan Strait."
Boucher, however, refuted Zhou's assertions.
"We have made it clear," Boucher told reporters Friday, "that Minister Tang would make a private visit to the United States to participate in the US-Taiwan Business Council conference.
"That's a visit that's consistent with our policy. From time to time we have people like this, even at the ministerial level from Taiwan, come and visit," Boucher said.
While not saying whether Tang will have a separate meeting with Kelly, Boucher said that "it would be consistent with what we have done to have a meeting if we decide to do it."
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz is also attending the three-day conference and there are indications that Tang may meet with Wolfowitz on the sidelines of the conference.
The invitation to Tang marks the first time that a Taiwan defense minister has been granted a US visa other than for transit purposes since Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.
Tang has said that his mission at the meeting will be to explain Taiwan's defense structure and procurement policies. In this, he could be targeting his activities to the cross-section of the US aerospace and defense industry, which will sponsor and attend the conference.
The conference's sponsors include Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, Raytheon Co, General Dynamics Corp, United Technologies Corp, Textron Inc and Honeywell International Inc.
Tang has said he does not plan to discuss any specific Taiwan arms purchases and that he does not plan to discuss issues related to any US theater missile defense plans that might include Taiwan under its umbrella.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique