American Institute in Taiwan Director William Stanton said yesterday US policy toward China was shaped by idealism and that the US will not walk away from Taiwan.
“From a Machiavellian point of view, the easy thing would be to just not sell arms to Taiwan any more, simple, but we go on doing that,” Stanton said at a Taipei Salon lecture hosted by the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation.
In a speech titled “The Paradox of America,” Stanton said it was a myth that US foreign policy is driven only by self-interest.
Stanton said that adherence to idealist principles was one of the things that made US foreign policy so difficult to understand.
“It would be much easier if we did everything from the point of view of self-interest,” he said.
PRIORITIES
Recalling his experiences at the US Embassy in Beijing, Stanton said he was told by a Chinese think tank that the US is “wasting [its] breath” talking about freedom and religion in China and Tibet, defending Taiwan and selling arms to Taiwan.
Stanton said the Chinese think tank told him that none of those issues were a major priority or in US interests, adding that the US should instead talk about trade between the two countries.
“But the point is actually that America does care passionately about those things,” Stanton said.
TRANSFORMATION
In his speech, Stanton praised the achievements of Taiwan, saying that Taiwan’s own efforts and policies had transformed it from a poor country with a military dictatorship to a developed democracy with technological leadership in the world.
“The United States can’t walk away from [Taiwan] and still remain the United States,” he said.
NEGOTIATIONS
After the forum, Stanton was asked whether the US would resume the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) negotiations with Taiwan.
In response, Stanton said only that he hoped the US would renew focus on the talks and move forward, particularly after the recently signed cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
Stanton said the dispute over US beef imports to Taiwan was still an issue in trade relations with Taiwan, but added that the US had not set any precondition for the resumption of the TIFA talks.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
RSS