US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the US is looking forward to "seeing" and "hearing" the inauguration speech of President Chen Shui-bian (
Powell made the remarks to the Taiwanese media after his meeting Thursday with Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (
His words came as Taipei-Washington relations have become strained over Chen's insistence on holding a referendum alongside the presidential election on March 20 and over his plan to write a new constitution in 2006 and implement it in 2008.
The two referendum questions -- whether to increase anti-missile defense in the face of missile threats by China, and whether to start dialogue with China on a framework for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait -- failed because less than half of the nation's electorate cast votes on the referendum questions -- a legal requirement for passage.
Powell reaffirmed the US' "one-China" policy and expressed the hope that both sides of the strait will act prudently.
He said that Chen "is certainly aware of our policy with respect to China and Taiwan," adding that the US feels strongly "that our `one-China' policy based on the three Communiques and our Taiwan Relations Act ... has served as a foundation for stability and peace in the region for many years."
The US "would not like to see anything happen that will change such a situation," he said.
"We believe both sides should act with prudence, take no unilateral action. We have said that we do not support independence of Taiwan, so we look forward to seeing President Chen's inaugural speech," Powell said.
During his 2000 inaugural, Chen laid out his "five noes" pledge, which included pledges not to declare independence if Beijing does not use force and not to hold a referendum on the nation's status on independence or unification.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS