New US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently reaffirmed the “six assurances” regarding US policy toward Taiwan in response to questions from US Senator Ben Cardin before the US Senate confirmed him as the country’s top diplomat on Feb. 1.
In the written responses, Tillerson said that the Three Joint Communiques, the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the “six assurances” provide the foundation for US policy toward Taiwan and China, adding that the US should continue to uphold its “one China” policy and support a peaceful and mutually agreeable cross-Taiwan Strait outcome.
Tillerson was replying to Cardin’s questions regarding whether the principles of the communiques and the TRA remain the important foundations of the US-China relationship and whether he believes that the “one China” policy remains valid or needs revision.
Photo: AFP
He also said that if confirmed, he intends to support the “one China” policy.
Tillerson was also asked whether he was concerned that US President Donald Trump’s suggestion in an interview in December last year that the “one China” policy was negotiable might have created the impression that Taiwan is nothing more than a bargaining chip and might undermine the US’ ability to support Taiwan and protect US interests in peace and stability in the region.
“The people of Taiwan are friends of the United States and should not be treated as a bargaining chip. The US commitment to Taiwan is both a legal commitment and a moral imperative,” he said.
Under the “one China” policy, the US recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China, Tillerson said.
As required by the TRA, the US continues to provide Taiwan with defensive arms and maintains the capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan, Tillerson wrote.
He said that the US also upholds the “six assurances” toward Taiwan, adding that, if confirmed, he would continue these policies and work to ensure that the cross-strait military balance remains favorable to peace and stability.
Tillerson first mentioned the “six assurances” at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Jan. 11.
Then-US president Ronald Reagan issued the “six assurances” in 1982, which include pledges not to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, not to hold prior consultations with China regarding arms sales to Taiwan and not to play a mediation role between Taiwan and China.
They also promise that the US will not revise the TRA, will not pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with China and will not formally recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
RSS