The student-government conflict over the cross-strait service trade agreement has seemingly extended overseas as student representatives accepted an invitation from the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) to hold a press conference in the US the same day as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was holding a video conference with a Washington think tank yesterday.
During the president’s teleconference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a part of events marking the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act, Ma conveyed to the US audience the direction of his government’s cross-strait policies, as well as Taiwan’s resolve to integrate with the wider regional economy by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pacts.
If Taiwan could join the TPP, it would be beneficial to the nation and all other TPP members, Ma said, adding that it would safeguard the Taiwanese economy and strengthen the US’ economic strategy in Asia.
Photo: CNA
When asked by US academics about the student-led protests over the Ma administration’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement, Ma said his administration would work to communicate the benefits of the pact to the public.
Saying he understands people’s doubts and fears of overt reliance on China, Ma said that since he assumed office Taiwan’s exports have been distributed to many other countries.
The diversification of exports — not placing all the nation’s eggs in one basket — is an important part of the government’s ongoing economic polices, Ma said, adding that the results of such policies take time to come to fruition and are not instantaneous.
Meanwhile, student representatives Dennis Wei (魏揚) and Huang Yu-fen (黃郁芬), aside from attending the press conference hosted by FAPA, were also scheduled to conduct a talk with students at the George Washington University yesterday evening.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2