As the chorus of criticism of the US State Department's handling of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) name-change initiative grows among Taiwan's supporters in Washington, Therese Shaheen, former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairwoman and US Representative Tom Tancredo have become the latest to slam the department for its attitudes toward Taiwan.
Shaheen's comments, made in an interview with the Taipei Times, mark the first time in the three years since she was dismissed from the AIT post for her strong pro-Taiwan views that she has broken her silence to criticize what she sees as the department's over-sensitivities toward China's complaints about political developments in Taiwan.
For Tancredo, in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday, the department's tough reaction to the name-change move was "puzzling" in contrast to the department's mild reaction to China's passage of its "Anti-Secession" Law in 2005.
Their reactions come just days after former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage publicly criticized the department for its over-reaction on Friday.
"Taiwan ... is one of the freest democracies in Asia," Shaheen said. "From the greatest democracy in the world [the US], the maturing democracy in Taiwan deserves respect."
Claiming that the department's policy and reactions to Taiwan stem from a concern over China's feelings, she said: "As the only superpower, we should not be relating to Taiwan in a reactive way. The US needs to act strategically toward Taiwan."
She also faulted the department for implicitly accusing Chen of violating his "four noes" pledge in his 2000 inaugural address by ordering the name changes.
Tancredo said that for the department "to equate the renaming of a gas station with a change in Taiwan's international status is, to say the least, rather puzzling," in reference to changing the name of the Chinese Petroleum Corp to CPC Corp, Taiwan.
"It is rather difficult to understand how a decision about what the name of a local business might be in Taiwan is any of the State Department's concern," Tancredo said. "It seems to me that Taiwan's elected leaders and investors are perfectly capable of determining what the name of a particular shipbuilding company ought to be."
His letter recalled the muted response by the department to the "Anti-Secession" Law. At the time, then state department spokesman Richard Boucher urged both sides to seek dialogue, while White House spokesman Scott McClellan characterized the law only as "unhelpful," Tancredo wrote.
In fact, the law "was intended to create a legal framework for China to initiate military action against Taiwan. The `law' represents a clear-cut, belligerent and dangerous step toward a military attack of Taiwan," he said.
On Feb. 9 the State Department said that it opposed moves by Taiwan "that would appear to change Taiwan's status unilaterally or move toward independence. The United States does not, for instance, support changes in terminology for entities administered by the Taiwan authorities."
Critics believe the department's response is linked to the US need for Chinese cooperation in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS