President Chen Shui-bian (
"As the US and Taiwan have the Taiwan Relations Act, Taiwan and Japan must have a better cooperative relationship," Chen said. "We'd like to see a strategic dialogue mechanism set up between the two countries, something like Japan-Taiwan security talks," he said.
A Japanese version of the TRA could serve as a pivotal foundation for maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
Chen made the remarks yesterday morning during a video conference exchange with Japanese lawmakers, academics and reporters organized by Japan's Waseda University.
The president proposed that the US, Japan and Taiwan hold trilateral dialogues before talking to China.
He thanked Japan and US for affirming that the protection of Taiwan is a "common strategic objective" and encouraging both sides of the Taiwan Strait to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue.
"I hope that Japan will play the role of a facilitator and balancing force between Taiwan and China," he said.
Chen said the North Korea crisis involves not only the test firing of missiles in July and and underground nuclear test last month but the fact that the North is not a democratic country and that its government lacks transparency.
The lack of oversight -- by a legislature, opposition parties and the public -- of its national leader also poses a serious problem, Chen said.
Although Taiwan is not a UN member, Chen said that his administration would back the implementation of the UN sanctions against Pyongyang.
While rumor has it that Japan might sacrifice Taiwan to work with China in a bid to resolve the North Korean crisis, Chen said that Taiwan and North Korea are two separate issues and cannot be mixed together.
Chen said that Washington has said that it would not sacrifice Taiwan's interests in exchange for China's cooperation on Pyongyang, and that he believes the Japanese government, its Diet and its people would not sacrifice Taiwan's interests either.
Chen said the improvement of Japan-China relations -- as shown by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to China -- would not affect Taiwan's interests but corresponds with the common interests of Taiwan and Japan.
In addition to closely monitoring China's power struggles, the government also pays attention to its democratic wakening, Chen said.
"We do not want to see the rise of China as the rise of hegemony or military force," he said. "As long as China becomes a democratic country and connects itself with the world, we are not worried about its political infighting."
Describing the Taiwan-Japan relations as being in the optimum phase since the severance of diplomatic ties 34 years ago, Chen said he hoped the two countries could sign a free trade agreement.
Chen asked whether it might be feasible to ink an economic partnership agreement before as the first step toward a free trade pact.
also see story:
Chen criticizes `cooperation' with CCP
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
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
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
RSS