Taiwan’s future should be determined by its nearly 24 million citizens without outside influence, Project 2049 Institute chairman Richard Armitage yesterday told a meeting attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), institute president John Gastright and other institute members.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and National Security Council Secretary-General David Lee (李大維) also joined the meeting at the Presidential Office, part of which was broadcast on Tsai’s Facebook page.
Calling Armitage — who served as US deputy secretary of state during former US president George W. Bush’s first term in office — an old friend of Taiwan and hers, Tsai said she was glad to meet him again after his visit last year.
Photo: CNA
She also thanked him for introducing her during a videoconference she held with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Brookings Institution and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on April 9 as part of an event marking the 40th anniversary of the US’ Taiwan Relations Act.
The US remains Taiwan’s most important strategic and economic ally, and the two nations have worked closely on security and economic affairs over the past three years, with bilateral relations at their best ever, Tsai said.
The US government has announced three arms sales packages for Taiwan, and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar last month spoke out for Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Assembly in Switzerland, she said.
Tsai said she is continuing to work with the US on the challenges to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Armitage told the president that he was happy to continue renewing his 20-year friendship with Taiwan and hear Tsai’s discussion of the aspirations of Taiwanese during a private talk they had held earlier in the day.
The delegation was not in Taiwan to ask for anything, except to say that “Taiwan has to determine her own future, and almost 24 million citizens of Taiwan have to have a free, open [and] democratic process” to make that decision, he said.
The institute’s members would dedicate themselves to ensuring that process happen without being affected by any outside forces, Armitage added.
The 11-year-old Arlington, Virginia-based institute is a non-profit research organization that focuses on promoting US values and security interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
Gastright also served as a deputy US assistant secretary of state, among other positions he held at the US Department of State before joining the private sector.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
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