In view of the US and Japan's plan to revise their security pact to make the Taiwan Strait a mutual security concern, Vice President Annette Lu (
"[The plan] signified that Taiwan's existence, Taiwan's sovereignty and Taiwan's security are receiving attention from the international community," Lu said.
The vice president made the comments yesterday in response to media questions regarding a Washington Post report that the US and Japan would declare after a meeting in Washington, DC yesterday on bilateral security matters that Taiwan is a mutual security concern.
In a meeting yesterday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Japanese Defense Agency chief Yoshinori Ono were expected to make strong statements about tension in the Taiwan Strait.
Approving of the moves, the vice president called on Taiwan's people to adopt a severe and vigilant attitude with regard to the cross-strait situation.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed the US and Japan's planned declaration to identify the Taiwan Strait as one of their "common strategic objectives."
"Taiwan, being a member of the Asian region, is more than willing to continue taking part in regional events and assist in safeguarding the region's peace and stability," MOFA spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said.
Hsiao Bi-khim (
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said yesterday that expected revisions to the US-Japan Security Alliance will make a Chinese invasion of Taiwan difficult to achieve.
While giving a lecture to trainees at the Lee Teng-hui School, Lee said that Beijing has used military force to try to intimidate the Taiwanese people into voting for candidates it favored in the three presidential elections since 1996.
Disappointed at its failure to achieve the desired results, Beijing has given up hope on unification through peaceful means and is determined to achieve unification through military force, Lee said.
He said that China's plan to enact an "anti-secession law" has received negative responses from the US and Taiwan because Beijing's claim that Taiwan is part of China is totally unconvincing.
He urged Beijing to review its nationalist policy and to bring about peace in Asia.
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
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