US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday told Chinese-language media that he will not discuss US arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese leaders during his upcoming visit to Beijing. He also stressed that the US arms sales to Taiwan aim at helping the island to defend itself, and that the sales will not threaten China. \nPowell arrived in Tokyo yesterday and will flight to Beijing later today. He is also scheduled to attend Tuesday's inauguration of South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun in Seoul. \nDuring his visit to Beijing, he will meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民), Vice President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (唐家璇) and other high-ranking officials to exchange opinions on the North Korea issue. \nAccording to Powell, Jiang himself firmly supported US President George W. Bush's idea of keeping the two Koreas a "non-nuclear peninsula" during their previous meeting in Texas. Therefore, the US hopes that China can use its influence to achieve this goal in order to resolve the current crisis. \nReporters asked whether China would try to exchange cooperation on the North Korea problem for reduced US arms sales to Taiwan. Powell emphasized that he did not expect these questions would be discussed on this trip. \nPowell said the US completely understands Chinese concern about the arms-sales issue and that he had used every opportunity to remind Chinese officials that though the US has made promises regarding the one-China policy and the three communiques, it also has responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act. When selling arms to Taiwan, the US considers all factors, he said. \nResponding to reporter's questions about when the US will begin the war on Iraq, Powell refused to reply directly. Instead he said that the peace sought by the US is the way to avoid war, but if Saddam Hussein refuses to disarm, military action may be unavoidable. \n TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG AND ETHAN HARKNESS
SECURITY CONCERNS: The Telecom Technology Center ran black-box tests for the Executive Yuan on devices and software from Chinese, US and South Korean firms Network devices from several Chinese manufacturers are insecure and allow personal information to be leaked, testing commissioned by the Executive Yuan has shown. A variety of devices and software, including apps, from Chinese, US and South Korean manufacturers that are used by government agencies at the central and local level were subjected to black-box testing — in which the functionality of an application is examined without knowing about its internal structure, an information-security official said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The Telecom Technology Center conducted the tests, which simulated cyberattacks, to determine their resilience to the attacks, the official said. The center
Americans awoke yesterday to charred and glass-strewn streets in dozens of cities after another night of unrest fueled by rage over the mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of police, who responded to the violence with tear gas and rubber bullets. Tens of thousands marched peacefully through streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on Monday last week after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing. However, many demonstrations sank into chaos as night fell: Vehicles and businesses were torched. The words “I can’t breathe” were
The nation marked its 49th day with no new domestic COVID-19 cases yesterday, and there were no new imported cases, but that does not mean the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) can relax its attention, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said yesterday in Tainan as he and a team of health officials wrapped up a weekend visit to the city. The visit is part of the center’s efforts to promote domestic travel under the “new disease prevention lifestyle.” Among the 442 confirmed cases, 423 have been released from isolation and 12 people remain hospitalized, Chen
EXTRA INVITATIONS: Russia, Australia, South Korea and India would be asked to a later summit dedicated to countering China, Donald Trump said US President Donald Trump has been forced to cancel a planned face-to-face summit of G7 leaders this month and now wants to host an expanded meeting in September dedicated to countering China to which Russian President Vladimir Putin would be invited. Trump on Saturday announced that he had canceled the June meeting, which he had billed as a symbol of the US “transitioning back to greatness,” after German Chancellor Angela Merkel told him in a telephone call that she saw the summit in Washington as a health risk. Hundreds of security staff, journalists and officials also attend the two-day summits. Reports suggest
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