This week’s meetings between Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and the top echelons of the US government risk undermining the interests of Taiwan as its government has become indifferent to notions of sovereignty and security, experts told a press conference yesterday.
Hu, who departed Beijing for Washington yesterday to attend a three-day state visit, is scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama today.
Former envoy to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a press conference held by Taiwan Brain Trust that he expected Hu would take the -opportunity to reiterate the US-China joint statement signed in November 2009 during Obama’s visit to Beijing.
“As the joint statement has caused major harm to Taiwan, there is no doubt that the [Obama-Hu meeting] will again undermine the interests of Taiwan,” said Wu, a research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations.
The joint statement, in which the US and China “reaffirmed the fundamental principle of respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “the US encourages both sides of the Taiwan Strait to increase dialogue and interaction in economic, political and other fields,” violated the US Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the six promises Washington made to Taiwan, Wu said.
China mentions the joint statement on every occasion to claim unilaterally that its sovereignty over Taiwan is supported by the US, while President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has made no effort to push the US to reaffirm the TRA and its six promises, Wu said.
Although the Ma administration has repeatedly told the US that Taiwan will not sacrifice its relations with it while developing closer ties with China, that promise sounds like “lip service” to a lot of people, Wu said.
That the Ma administration did not take issue with the joint statement, deferred payment on the purchase of six Patriot anti-missile batteries and accepted the “1992 consensus” as defined by Li Yafei (李亞飛), deputy chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, all “left too much room for our friends in the US to worry about,” Wu said.
York Chen (陳文政), an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University and a former National Security Council official, said it was concerning that the Chinese military buildup did not cause any alarm in the Ma administration, while neighboring countries are already closely monitoring the situation.
“The Chinese J-20 stealth fighter is meant to be used as a first-strike force against Taiwan. Japan is not its target, nor is Guam. However, the Ma administration was unable to get hold of any information beforehand and had no reaction to its test flight,” Chen said.
Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠), a researcher at the think tank, said the government should take seriously remarks recently made by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in Beijing that the US might re-examine its Taiwan policy under certain circumstances.
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