The US expects Taiwan to adopt a “transparent, fair and impartial” approach in the corruption proceedings against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young said yesterday.
“We believe it needs to be transparent, fair and impartial,” Young said at his biannual media briefing in Taipei.
“Considering that it is conducted in that manner, it can then strengthen the confidence both here and around the world in your democracy,” he said.
“The only thing I would say is that not only Taiwan, but your friends around the world will be watching this process very closely,” Young said.
Young said he had confidence in Taiwan’s democracy, but urged for more dialogue between the government and the opposition.
He also said that Taiwan-US relations would remain “strong and enduring” under the leadership of US president-elect Barack Obama.
In related news, the foreign affairs spokesmen of the ruling and opposition parties in the Netherlands on Tuesday expressed concern to Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen during a session of the Dutch parliament about the spate of detentions in Taiwan.
Maarten Haverkamp of the ruling Christian Democrat Party and Hans van Baalen of the opposition People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy asked the foreign minister if he was aware that “Chen and a number of politicians of the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] have been arrested on suspicion of abuse of power while in power.”
Their prepared list of questions also asked Verhagen whether he planned to brief parliament on events in Taiwan so that its members could gain a better understanding of the situation.
They also asked the foreign minister whether he was prepared to use all available channels to “urge the present administration led by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to apply the basic principles of the rule of law in a democracy when prosecuting those who on juridical grounds are suspected of abuse of their position while in power.”
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
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