US Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton held a private meeting late on Thursday, their campaigns said, amid feverish speculation over whom he will choose as his vice presidential running mate.
“Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in [the election in] November,” their campaigns said in a joint statement, US media reported.
No further details were given on the talks, but the news — and the secrecy — only fueled rumors about a possible Clinton role in Obama’s campaign.
The former first lady had earlier sought to quash any suggestion that she was agitating to be picked as Obama’s vice president after he won their epic battle for the Democratic Party’s White House nomination on Tuesday.
“She is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her,” her campaign said. “The choice here is Senator Obama’s and his alone.”
The brief statement made no mention of whether the New York senator would be willing to accept the job if it were offered.
With scant information about Thursday’s meeting made available, speculation was rife.
The New York Times reported that Clinton initiated the meeting in Washington after a day of talks between their aides. Obama was campaigning in Virginia and canceled a planned flight home to Chicago to be there.
Obama has said he would not be bounced into a choice as a three-member team began to vet vice presidential contenders on his behalf.
Interviewed by CNN on Thursday, he reiterated a line he used repeatedly on the primary campaign trial: “Senator Clinton would be on anybody’s shortlist.”
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