The Bush administration has dismissed as moot talk that Washington might seek the dispatch of Taiwanese marines to Iraq, saying that Taiwan has not made such an offer nor has the US asked for it.
"I would point out that Taiwan has not offered the dispatch of troops and we're not seeking such a contribution," Department of State spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters on Monday.
"It's really a moot point," he said.
Boucher made the comments in response to questions at his regular daily news briefing.
In his response, he praised Taiwan's contribution to humanitarian aid to Iraq, saying, "We do value the contributions that Taiwan is making."
Boucher noted that Taiwan contributed US$4.4 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraq after major combat ended last year, including medicines, blankets and food, and computers to the new Iraqi education ministry.
"We thank Taiwan for their contributions," he said.
Boucher was answering questions stemming from a resolution introduced in the House of Representatives last week by two congressmen, asking President George W. Bush to request that President Chen Shui-bian (
The resolution, sponsored by two Republicans, Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a co-chairman of the Taiwan Congressional Caucus, and Representative Jim Ryun, is one of thousands of bills introduced in Congress every year, only few of which survive the legislative process.
An aide to Rohrabacher told the Taipei Times on Monday that the idea for the resolution came from a May 16 Los Angeles Times story that quoted DPP Legislator Parris Chang (
The resolution picked up on that idea, and that wording, in its justification for seeking other congressmen to support and vote for the resolution.
Congressional lobbying group the Formosan Association for Public Affairs said in a news release that the idea was first brought up in an April 27 article by William Triplett, a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee aide and prominent conservative political thinker, that explored the possibility of Taiwan's sending troops to Iraq.
"We sort of kicked the idea around and said, `the troops should be there.' They're a democracy and they're a part of the world community," and should be asked to participate, the Rohrabacher aide said.
"This might get Taiwan off the dime," he said. "They were considering it and this could help them along in the process."
A legislative aide to Ryun, Jim Richardson, said the idea "was to put Congress on record, to let the administration know and hopefully they'll support the idea that there is a need in Iraq for additional troops. The United States has asked every other society in the world to contribute and it must make sense to ask Taiwan to contribute troops as well."
The Presidential Office has denied that was considering sending troops to Iraq.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei