One of Taiwan's most outspoken supporters in the US Congress slammed Mexico over reports that it had not permitted President Chen Shui-bian (
Representative Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, criticized Mexico in a recent speech.
Chen was forced to delay his return to Taipei from a transit in Los Angeles on Jan. 11 after Mexico reportedly prohibited his plane from entering its airspace because of pressure exerted by China.
Tancredo said that the move extended the flight time from five hours to ten hours, which he said delayed Chen's appointments with US officials, in addition to putting the lives of both Chen and the flight crew at risk.
As a result of the Mexican government's refusal to allow Chen access to its airspace, the president's aircraft made a detour over the Pacific Ocean.
Chen and his delegation had been scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles at 2:30pm, but instead landed at around 8pm.
Chen's scheduled meetings and telephone calls with US politicians and academics were delayed or canceled.
Tancredo questioned what he described as the decision by Mexican authorities to refuse Chen access to Mexican airspace, after having agreed to the request prior to Chen's departure for Nicaragua. Tancredo said that the reason for the refusal was clear and simple: Chinese pressure.
Tancredo is a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. He recently announced that he was setting up an exploratory committee to prepare for a bid for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2008.
Tancredo also directed comments at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, that "next time a popularly elected Taiwanese president visits the US," he or she should be received in Washington. He added that he also hoped that any popularly elected Taiwanese leader visiting North America would be given courteous treatment by other democratic countries in the region.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS