The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday said it does not support a referendum on Taiwanese independence, after a former AIT chairman penned an open letter advising against the proposed plebiscite by pro-independence group Formosa Alliance.
“The US has a deep and abiding interest in cross-strait peace and stability. Taiwan is a reliable partner, and we appreciate Taiwan’s efforts to maintain peace and stability,” AIT spokeswoman Amanda Mansour said in a statement.
Mansour reiterated that the US has long been opposed to unilateral actions aimed at altering the “status quo.”
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“It has been our long-standing policy that we do not support a referendum on Taiwan independence,” she said, but cited a speech by US Vice President Mike Pence in October last year in which he said that the US would always believe that Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all Chinese.
The statement came just two days after former AIT chairman Richard Bush’s public letter was published on the Web site of Washington-based think tank the Brookings Institution, addressed to Formosa Alliance convener Kuo Pei-hung (郭倍宏) over the alliance’s call for amendments to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to pave the way for an independence referendum.
The act does not allow referendums that seek to amend the Constitution or touch upon the nation’s sovereignty.
Kuo’s proposal touches on the US’ national interest in peace and security in the Taiwan area, as well as its long-standing view that neither side of the Taiwan Strait should unilaterally change the cross-strait “status quo,” Bush wrote.
He also warned that such a move could trigger Article 8 of China’s “Anti-Secession” Law, which authorizes the use of non-peaceful means to respond to what it deems separatist actions by Taiwan.
“I am sure you agree with me that a war in the Taiwan Strait, however it began, would be a tragedy for the island and for all that its people have achieved,” Bush added.
While there is an implied commitment of the US to come to Taiwan’s defense if China resorts to non-peaceful means to deal with separatist moves by Taipei, Bush said “that commitment has never been absolute.”
He also said that to his knowledge, US President Donald Trump is skeptical about any US security commitment to Taiwan.
“At a meeting of the National Security Council on Jan. 19, 2018, Mr Trump asked his senior national security team, ‘even more than [South Korea], what do we get from protecting Taiwan?’ The implication of that question is the US commitment to Taiwan is not justified, as far as he is concerned,” Bush wrote, adding that he has not seen evidence that the skepticism has changed.
One of the reasons that the US has expressed support for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her administration is because she is cautious and careful, he said.
When asked for comments yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not directly respond to the AIT’s statement, but said that the government has always dealt with cross-strait relations with discretion, and a steadfast and pragmatic attitude.
The ministry called for continued support from the international community for Taiwan, which it said would allow the nation to stride farther and be more determined on its path to defend democracy, freedom and sovereignty.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
DISPUTE: A Chinese official prompted a formal protest from Tokyo by saying that ‘the dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off,’ after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks Four armed China Coast Guard vessels yesterday morning sailed through disputed waters controlled by Japan, amid a diplomatic spat following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. The four ships sailed around the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) to Taiwan, and which Taiwan and China also claim — on Saturday before entering Japanese waters yesterday and left, the Japan Coast Guard said. The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it carried out a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters and that it was a lawful operation. As of the end of last month,
RSS