Nine members of the US Congress sent a joint letter to US President George W. Bush yesterday calling for an end to the US' "one China" policy.
Led by House Foreign Affairs Committee member Representative Gus Bilirakis, the letter asked Bush to end the "one China" policy, which the letter described as a vestige of the Cold War and liable to send China the wrong signals regarding the Taiwan situation.
The representatives -- almost all Republicans -- said that because the "one China" policy implies that Taiwan is part of China, it undermines the legitimacy of the US policy of providing defensive weapons to Taiwan and also gives China an opportunity to control strategic regional waters.
Representatives
Representatives Gus Bilirakis, Tom Tancredo, Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee Thaddeus McCotter, Steve Chabot, Scott Garrett, Dana Rohrabacher, John Culberson, Mark Souder and Collin Peterson said that the assumption that Taiwan is part of China "seriously undermines the legitimacy of our provision to sell Taiwan defensive weapons. It also ignores the fact that Taiwan has made an impressive transformation from authoritarianism to democracy over the past twenty years."
China's refusal last year to grant US ships access to Hong Kong harbor under bad weather conditions, they said, was retribution for the US' security commitment to Taiwan and the decision to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama.
This was a "transgression of international maritime practice and ... raises serious questions about China's commitment to international norms," the letter said.
Peace
"It is clear that it is not the `One China' policy that has kept the peace in the western Pacific. Rather, it has been our commitment to Taiwan's security under the Taiwan Relations Act," it said.
The US is abiding by a policy first implemented in the 1970s in the 21st century, they said.
"Unless our outdated policy vis-a-vis the PRC [People's Republic of China] and Taiwan is modernized, the United States should expect tensions in the region to continue rising," the letter said.
The letter ends by calling upon the US to "set a good example" and to "support democracy in Taiwan."
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘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
RSS