President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday urged unity across political lines against China as Sao Tome and Principe broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The African nation’s decision to terminate ties with Taiwan, as well as changes in the international situation, pose a major challenge to Taiwan diplomatically, Tsai said at a meeting of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Central Standing Committee at the party’s headquarters in Taipei.
“At a time of change, national solidarity across party lines is increasingly needed to fight against foreign forces,” DPP spokesman Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) quoted Tsai as saying. “China has never stopped suppressing Taiwan’s international participation and diplomatic efforts.”
Photo: courtesy of the Presidential Office
China is behind a series of diplomatic setbacks Taiwan has faced, including the Gambia’s decision to sever diplomatic ties in 2013, the disrespectful treatment former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was subject to in Malaysia last month and Sao Tome and Principe’s announcement yesterday, Tsai said.
“As those incidents clearly suggest, China’s intervention occurs regardless of which party is in charge of the [Taiwanese] government,” she said.
China’s diplomatic isolation of Taiwan is directed against the entire population instead of specific political parties, Tsai said, adding that such practices are counterproductive to long-term cross-strait development and alienate Taiwanese.
In face of these challenges, the government must adopt a pragmatic diplomatic policy to broaden the scope of the nation’s international cooperation and improve Taipei’s relations with other nations on a mutually beneficial basis, she said.
Since Tsai was inaugurated in May, it has been the government’s top priority to increase the nation’s global presence and re-evaluate the unfair treatment the nation has been subject to, Tsai said, reiterating that the nation would not ease its diplomatic efforts.
“While divergence and conflict are common between the ruling and opposition parties, it is time we united against foreign forces to protect the national interest,” Tsai said.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said Tsai met with government officials at noon to respond to the incident.
The participants included National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Premier Lin Chuan (林全), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維), Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) and central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南).
Huang said the president issued three instructions following the meeting: it is unnecessary for Taiwan to engage in “checkbook diplomacy” and it should maintain its stance of assisting diplomatic allies based on the principles of equality, reciprocity and mutual prosperity; that Beijing’s attempts to limit Taiwan’s international participation cause damage to the global community and cross-strait development; and finance-related government agencies should closely monitor the stock market in the aftermath of the break.
Additional reporting by CNA
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS