US supporters of Taiwan reacted with surprise and anger at President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) reference to Taiwan as a “province” during talks with visiting Texas Governor Rick Perry in Taipei earlier this week.
“In 1988, Texas and Taiwan Province became sister states,” Ma said. “Over the past two years, we have engaged in many exchanges in technology, culture, education and agriculture.”
In fact, an official resolution passed last year by the Texas House of Representatives — reaffirming the friendship agreement — refers to Taiwan throughout as a “Sister State” and not as a province.
What particularly upset Taiwanese-Americans was that only last week, the Federal Register — the official journal of the US Government — announced that for the first time Taiwan was being regarded as a “new designated country.”
The announcement said the Federal Acquisition Regulation had been amended to add Taiwan “as a designated country, due to the accession of Taiwan to membership in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement.”
The move, which has been pending for about a year, is not expected to have any major impact on trade.
Nevertheless, it was considered significant for symbolic reasons.
The fear by many Taiwanese-Americans is that by referring to Taiwan as a “province,” Ma may have conceded that a Chinese takeover was inevitable.
“It is extremely disturbing,” said Coen Blaauw, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Relations (FAPA).
“American policymakers and government institutions bend over backwards in the international community to treat Taiwan as a sovereign country,” he said. “And here we have President Ma referring to that very country as a province of China when dealing with Governor Perry. Many of our members are very upset.”
A typical reaction came from a Taiwanese-born American now working for the US government in Washington.
“It makes me furious. All of my Taiwanese friends here can’t understand why President Ma would talk in this way. Obviously, we are not a province of China. If we were, we would be ruled by Beijing,” he said.
FAPA president Bob Yang (楊英育) said: “ I am concerned that Taiwan will start attending international meetings such as the WHA with permission from China and that this will become a trend and an accepted norm. It will mark a slippery slope for Taiwan and for Taiwan’s supporters, who want to see Taiwan as a free and democratic country receive greater international recognition.
“The bottom line is that the Chinese leadership cannot be trusted. It is high time Taiwan’s leadership recognized that,” Yang said.
While not directly connected to Ma’s remarks, Congressman Scott Garrett on Tuesday called for full membership for Taiwan in international organizations instead of just “meaningful participation.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from