US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said the Chinese are carefully watching “the path and progress” of Taiwanese democracy and that they “probably see a few things that worry them enormously.”
Answering questions at a Webcast conference on US-China relations recently, Campbell said the Chinese also saw things in Taiwanese democracy to which they “aspire.”
He said the “wholeness” of the Taiwanese democratic experience was not lost on either the Chinese leadership or the Chinese people.
Campbell, who accompanied US President Barack Obama on a recent visit to China, said the clashes and discord accompanying the Taipei power struggle worried ordinary Chinese the most.
Friends in China, he said, were concerned by how “divisive” Taiwanese politics had become.
“They worry that if they move in such a direction that they too will have these enormous difficulties in making transitions between parties. These are hard questions that are difficult to answer,” he said.
Over the past 10 years, Campbell said, some things — such as the concept of democracy, local elections and issues associated with greater participation — have become widely talked about.
It would have been “unthinkable” to discuss them “just a short period of time ago,” he said.
Campbell added: “Now, I hear in much more common circumstances a dialogue that a few years ago would have been impossible.”
Campbell quickly added that this did not mean democracy was “right around the corner” for China.
But there is an appreciation and a recognition in China of the role that democracy has played not just in Taiwan but in Japan, South Korea and other parts of Asia, he said.
Campbell said the US welcomed the dialogue now taking place between Beijing and Taipei.
There is still a long way to go, Campbell said, and the focus is primarily on economic matters. Still, he said, there is a recognition in Washington that the cross-strait dialogue is a very hopeful sign.
Asked which of a series of tinderbox issues — including Taiwan — was the greatest threat to US-China relations, Campbell said: “Each and every one of those issues if mishandled could pose a challenge. Each of these problems has at its core the prospect of incidents and unintended actions spinning out of control.”
“The problem is not simply the issues themselves, it is also that the United States and China [do] not have much experience dealing with problem management,” Campbell said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS