US Senator Joseph Lieberman blasted President George W. Bush on Tuesday for "turning his back on Taiwan," which he said was an "outrageously unprincipled position for a president of the United States to take."
Speaking with five other Democrat presidential candidates in a radio debate, Lieberman, a Democrat candidate for this year's presidential primaries, said that Taiwan's plans to hold a "defensive referendum" is not a declaration of independence.
"This was not a declaration of independence by the Taiwanese. This was a call for a referendum on whether the Chinese should remove the missiles from across the Taiwan Strait. And for the president [Bush], when China griped about it, to knuckle under, that's not what the leader of the greatest democracy in the world does," Lieberman said.
Lieberman, a senior senator who has served for over 16 years, was Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential election.
He has been a staunch supporter of Taiwan since the early 1980s.
On the referendum issue, John Kerry said that "the United States has always had a `one China' policy, not withstanding how terrible we may understand their regime to be. And that has been a Republican president, Democrat president policy alike. I think it is the right policy."
At the same time, Kerry said, no president could possibly allow Taiwan to slip backward from the democracy it has achieved.
"And what we have succeeded in doing through the years is to maintain a balance, what people have called a purposeful, constructive ambiguity, where we've left it uncertain as to precisely what steps we'd take."
"But we've made it clear we will not tolerate any kind of invasion, any kind of effort to move backwards," he said, adding that "I think now is the time for us to also be strong with Taiwan and to make it clear that while we are supportive of the democracy, and while we recognize the society they've built in a capitalist society, we are not going to permit them to declare independence; that would be unacceptable."
Kerry made the remarks in response to a question by Neal Conan, moderator of the debate, who asked: "Taiwan has scheduled what some are describing as a provocative referendum as a sign of restiveness, and some fear that it could lead them to a policy of independence. When it comes down to it, will you stand with the rambunctious democrats in Taipei? Or with the autocrats in Beijing?"
Responding to the same question, Lieberman said: "America is always strongest in the world when we stand by our principles, and the bedrock principle is freedom and democracy.
"So yes, China's big. We have to work to manage our relations with them. Taiwan is small, but China is not a democracy; Taiwan is. And we have to stand with that rambunctious democracy," Lieberman said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)