US Senator Dianne Feinstein on Thursday asserted that the US is under no legal obligation to defend Taiwan and fingered President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as the person who is rocking the boat in cross-strait relations.
According to the Mercury News, Feinstein, a Democrat, told the audience at the annual conference of the Committee of 100 in San Francisco on Thursday that the US has no duty to defend Taiwan if it provokes China into a military confrontation.
The Committee of 100 is a nonprofit organization whose membership make-up is predominantly Chinese-American business and cultural leaders.
"It is important to point out a common misconception -- nowhere does the TRA explicitly require the US to go to war with the mainland over Taiwan," the California Senator was quoted as saying by the Mercury News.
Feinstein is known for her generally favorable stance toward China. Her family are long-time friends of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民).
Her remarks came against the backdrop of Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) visit in Washington Thursday. US President George W. Bush met with Hu and discussed a wide range of issues including Taiwan.
Taiwanese-American groups were upset at Feinstein's remarks.
"I'm disappointed that a US senator has misinterpreted the law," Kuor Hsin Chang of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) was quoted as saying by the Mercury News.
While declining to comment on Feinstein's remarks, an official from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco said Taiwan wishes to maintain peace and is not in a position to provoke anyone to go to war for Taiwan, said the Mercury News.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Feinstein also called on Beijing to remove the hundreds of missiles it has aimed at Taiwan.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS