President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said her administration plans to maintain close, friendly relations with the US and promote cooperation between the two nations in all areas, especially in the economic and industrial realms.
Tsai made the remarks as she met former US deputy secretary of state Bill Burns at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters.
In a statement released after the one-hour meeting, the DPP said that Burns, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, congratulated Tsai on her victory in the presidential election and on the DPP winning an absolute majority in the legislative elections.
Photo provided by Democratic Progressive Party
Burns said that the US looks forward to a smooth transition to the new administration and hopes for further cooperation and exchanges with the new administration, the statement said.
Tsai thanked the US government for sending a well-respected, seasoned diplomat to Taiwan.
On regional issues, Tsai said she would aim to maintain peace and stability.
Burns also met President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and defeated Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday.
“Chu expressed his gratitude to Burns for visiting Taiwan on behalf of the US government, a trip that marks the good ties between Taipei and Washington,” said a KMT statement released following Chu’s meeting with Burns, adding that Chu also conveyed to Burns that the KMT would shoulder the responsibility expected of an opposition party, continue to cooperate with the DPP, and provide assistance to the DPP over cross-strait and US-Taiwan relations if needed.
The US Department of State last week announced that US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken is to visit Beijing on Thursday and Friday as part of a trip to Asia.
While in Beijing, he is scheduled to have talks with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍).
Meanwhile, DPP Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday left for Washington after the party’s landslide election win at the weekend.
Wu was scheduled to deliver a keynote speech discussing the aftermath of the vote at a think tank in Washington today, although the DPP described his trip as “routine” and gave no other details.
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu and Reuters
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a