A petition launched on the White House’s Web site calling on the US to recognize Taiwan as an independent country has garnered more than 64,000 signatures in less than a week.
The US in December 1978 severed diplomatic ties with the Republic of China and established ties with the People’s Republic of China in January 1979.
The US government should “formally recognize Taiwan as the independently governed nation it has been for over 60 years,” says the petition initiated on Monday by a user named K.W. on the petition Web site “We the People.”
Photo: Screen grab from the We the People Web site
Taiwan is “a model for other Asian countries to follow” as it has “transitioned from dictatorship into democracy in 1996 without bloodshed, when it voted for its first presidential election,” the petition says.
“It is a leader and partner to the United States, providing assistance to other countries with humanitarian aid and rescue teams during disasters,” it says.
“It is also a strategic partner in the Pacific, and important ally in helping to contain China,” the petition says.
“It’s time the 23 million people of Taiwan be [sic] represented in the United Nations ... and that can only happen if the United States extends formal recognition to the country, so other countries will follow suit,” the petition says.
Taiwan is recognized by 15 diplomatic allies after the Solomon Islands and Kiribati last month switched recognition to Beijing.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noticed the appeal voluntarily launched by US citizens, which the government of Taiwan respects, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday.
The ministry would closely watch the petition’s development while continuing to deepen the nation’s partnership with the US in different areas based on good collaborative foundations and mechanisms, she said.
The petition needs to collect 100,000 signatures by Nov. 6 to trigger a response from the White House.
As of press time, it needed 35,592 signatures to reach the threshold, the Web site (https://bit.ly/33zmaP1) showed.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS