US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Tokyo Saturday that Washington will continue to stick to its obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
She also said that the US will maintain its "one China" policy and oppose any unilateral change to the status quo by either side of the Taiwan Strait.
Rice, who was visiting Japan, made the comments in an address at Sophia University in Tokyo. The full text of her speech was released by the State Department the same day.
Pointing out that the US has reason to welcome the rise of China as a confident, peaceful and prosperous country, Rice said that Washington also wants China as "a global partner, able and willing to match its growing capabilities to its international responsibilities."
However, she admitted that some issues, particularly Taiwan, have complicated relations between China and the US.
"Our `one China' policy is clear and unchanged. We oppose unilateral changes to the status quo, whether by word or deed by either party," Rice said.
Saying that Taipei and Beijing must realize that neither side can solve the problem alone and should continue to expand recent steps toward a more productive relationship, Rice reiterated that "in the interest of peace and stability we stand by our obligations under the TRA."
She also said that the US can assure basic security as well as reach out to achieve other goals in the Pacific community because it knows economic and political openness works.
"The ultimate direction of contemporary trends is clear. Openness is the vanguard of success. Time and again we have seen that economic and political openness cannot long be separated. Even China must eventually embrace some form of open, genuinely representative government if it is to reap the benefits and meet the challenges of a globalizing world," she said.
Meanwhile, taking unilateral measures that can only escalate tension is not helpful to resolving cross-strait problems, Rice said in an interview with a Japanese TV station on Saturday.
She made the remarks while touching on China's "Anti-Secession" Law. The US State Department released the contents of the interview the same day.
Saying that neither side of the Taiwan Strait can resolve the cross-strait problem on its own, Rice noted that "unilateral measures that only increase tension rather than reducing them are simply not helpful."
Talking about China's human rights issue and the EU's intention to lift its arms sales ban on China, Rice said that although the US has decided not to seek a human rights resolution at the UN Commission on Human rights this year, the resolution is "something that comes up every year," adding, however, that "the removal of arms embargo doesn't come up every year and once it's removed, it's removed."
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS