The US has made it clear to China that it should stop coercion and resume dialogue with Taiwan, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said yesterday, after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Wednesday last week reasserted that China has the right to use force against Taiwan.
“The United States has a deep and abiding interest in cross-strait peace and stability. Any resolution of cross-strait differences must be peaceful and based on the will of the people on both sides,” AIT spokeswoman Amanda Mansour told local media when asked to comment on Xi’s speech.
“The United States has made clear to Beijing that it should stop its coercion and resume dialogue with the democratically elected administration on Taiwan,” she said, without giving further details.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“As we have said many times before, Taiwan is a democratic success story, a reliable partner and a force for good in the world,” she added.
The AIT represents US interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Mansour’s comments came after US National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis on Monday supported Taiwan in a tweet.
Xi on Wednesday last week gave an speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of China’s “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan.”
Xi said that China would be willing to talk with any party in Taiwan to push forward the process of peaceful unification on the basis of the “one China” principle.
However, “we make no promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means” to that end, Xi said.
China would not target compatriots in Taiwan, but focus on the interference of external forces, as well as the small number of Taiwanese independence activists, he added.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday on Twitter expressed her gratitude to the US for its support.
“I thank the #AIT for supporting democracy & the democratically-elected government in #Taiwan. To those who #SpeakUpForTaiwan, thank you!” Tsai tweeted.
‘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
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS