Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton said in an article published in the Los Angeles Times on Saturday that the US should grant "full diplomatic recognition" to Taiwan.
Bolton, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute -- a conservative think tank based in Washington -- said that US policy has long held that Taiwanese should determine their own political future without being subjected to coercion by Beijing.
Now that Taiwanese have elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Bolton said Ma's victory over rival Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) of the Democratic Progressive Party does not mean that Taiwan would shift from seeking formal independence to unification with China, because the majority of Taiwanese prefer to maintain the "status quo," which implies that Taiwan is a sovereign state.
The clearest way of expressing US support for Taiwan is to "give full diplomatic recognition to the state that already exists and that the Taiwanese overwhelmingly wish to preserve," he wrote.
Bolton said it was potentially dangerous for the US to maintain ambiguous, informal ties with Taiwan, because such a position is confusing and only obscures Beijing's understanding of how committed the US is to Taiwan's defense and self-determination.
"Recognition [of Taiwan] would bring stability and certainly, thus actually lowering the risks that Beijing will misinterpret the US position and threaten or actually commence military action to regain Taiwan," Bolton wrote.
"Extending diplomatic recognition would no more prejudice the US' `one China' policy [itself an exercise in confusion and ambiguity] or the ultimate issue of reunification than did US recognition of the two Germanys during the Cold War," he wrote.
In conclusion, Bolton said: "China will not like this turn of events, but inevitably it will have little choice but to accept dual recognition. Now more than ever, the US -- and Europe and Japan -- must be assertive in supporting a strengthening democracy in Taiwan."
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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