Recent comments by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were aimed at reminding President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration that a close Taiwan-US relationship is indispensable in maintaining regional and cross-strait peace, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said his party hoped the administration would hear the “alarm bells” message that Washington was sending and use it wisely when conducting cross-strait and foreign relations.
“Ms. Rice was reminding the administration that the US is Taiwan’s leverage and buttress,” he said. “A close relationship between Taiwan and the US is essential in protecting Taiwan’s status in the Asia-Pacific region and peace in the Taiwan Strait.”
Cheng made the comments while talking to reporters about comments Rice made in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last Thursday.
Rice said that although the US encourages improvements in the Taiwan-China relationship, she wanted to remind people that the US has a strong relationship with Taiwan and would like to see “Taiwan have real space in the international community.”
Rice was responding to a question on whether the election of Ma had opened an opportunity to improve US-Taiwan relations.
Cheng yesterday said that Ma had been leaning toward China since his inauguration on May 20, causing a change in the region’s delicate strategic balance.
Recent interaction between Taipei and Beijing had apparently led to grave misunderstandings in the international community, Cheng said. Rice’s comments ought to make the Ma administration think about the position it must take as it engages further with China, he said.
Cheng also commented on speculation that National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) asked the US to delay Taiwan’s military procurement package in order to create a more harmonious cross-strait atmosphere.
Cheng yesterday said that if this were true, it would sound “unbelievable” to the country’s diplomatic allies.
“It is stupid to abandon the country’s defense and diplomatic autonomy and put them on the negotiating table as a bargaining chip simply for the sake of creating a better atmosphere,” he said.
“We hope President Ma’s national security team understands what the mainstream view in the international community is,” Cheng said.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS