The Associated Press (AP) on Friday issued a clarification responding to the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s criticism of a report by the news agency which said that US President Barack Obama reiterated his “support for a ‘one China’ policy that regards Taiwan as part of China” to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at a joint press conference during the APEC summit in Beijing, with the media outlet saying that Washington’s policy is “more nuanced and intentionally ambiguous” than that.
The AP report in question was published on Wednesday under the title: “Obama, Xi seek to downplay persistent tensions,” and said that the US president had “reaffirmed his support for a ‘one China’ policy that regards Taiwan as part of China” in a “nod to China’s sovereignty.”
The wording used in the article is arguably a paraphrasing of what Obama said about Taiwan at the press conference, which according to a transcript provided by the White House was: “I reaffirmed my strong commitment to our one-China policy based on the Three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act.”
Since the change made to Obama’s statement in the AP article would appear to represent a change to US policy, given that Washington has long been careful to express that it “acknowledges” rather than “supports” Beijing’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the ministry told the Taipei Times on Thursday that it “sternly expressed our position” to the news agency over the report.
Meanwhile, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesperson Mark Zimmer confirmed to the Taipei Times that “nothing has changed about our [the US’] Taiwan policy” and that Washington remains committed to its “one China” policy based on the US-China Three Joint Communiques and the US’ Taiwan Relations Act.
In Friday’s clarification, the AP said that the US’ Taiwan policy is more intricate and purposefully vague than what the report may have suggested, adding that “under these declarations and law [the communiques and the act], the United States has considered Taiwan’s status as unsettled.”
“The US acknowledges China’s view that Taiwan is part of its territory, but it does not explicitly recognize China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, nor does it recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country,” it added.
‘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
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
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
RSS