Taiwan’s lack of response to the telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Friday last week was due to the US informing Taipei of the intended conversation prior to the call, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun reported yesterday.
During the call Trump agreed to “honor” the US’ “one China” policy.
According to the report, a “high-level” Taiwanese official said: “We are up to date on the issue; there is no need for unnecessary reaction,” seeming to imply that Taipei had prior knowledge of the call.
The “one China” policy is that Washington acknowledges Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China.
By contrast, Beijing’s “one China” principle states that both Taiwan and China are inalienable parts of a single “China” and that the People’s republic of China is China’s sole legitimate government, with peaceful resolution a possibility, but the use of force not excluded.
The report said that while Beijing praised Trump’s remarks about agreeing to honor the “one China” policy, the fact that Xinhua news agency made sure to use distinct terms indicated that “Xi is aware of the difference of attitude held by the US and China on the issue.”
The lack of response from Taiwan over the Trump-Xi call was seen as favorable, the Sankei Shimbun reported, adding that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had once again affirmed the US’ “six assurances” to Taipei.
The “six assurances” refer to the guidelines announced by then-US president Ronald Reagan in 1982 that the US would not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan; would not consult Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan; would not pressure Taiwan to negotiate with China; would not change its position on Taiwanese sovereignty; would not revise the Taiwan Relations Act; and would not mediate between Taipei and Beijing.
In Taipei, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said that “Taiwan has made its stance over the call very clear,” adding that the office does not comment on unsubstantiated media reports.
Asked whether Trump had informed Taipei before he made the call, an official familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity, did not deny it, adding that a White House statement had said that the agreement to honor the “one China” policy was at Xi’s request, meaning that Trump does not accept Beijing’s “one China” principle.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary