American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt met Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, with their talks focusing on cross-strait trade deals and Taiwan’s relationship with the US.
AIT Director William Stanton accompanied Burghardt, who is on a four-day trip to Taiwan to brief officials on US-China developments following a state visit to Washington by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) last week.
CLOSED-DOOR MEETING
Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), head of the DPP’s international affairs department, said many topics were addressed during the 80 minute closed-door meeting, adding that the emphasis was on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed between Taiwan and China last June.
The Joint Statement issued after US President Obama met Hu last week lauded the ECFA.
Explaining its inclusion, Burghardt said that Washington viewed the ECFA as a means by which to reduce cross-strait tensions.
Economic agreement
However, Tsai disagreed with that interpretation, saying the agreement should primarily be construed as an economic agreement, Hsiao told reporters after the meeting.
“For Taiwan, what we care about is the impact of the ECFA on unemployment, income disparity and the [economy]. While these are matters the US isn’t focusing on, they are the realities Taiwan must face,” Hsiao said.
REAFFIRMATION
During the meeting, Tsai also told Burghardt she was happy to see Obama reaffirm the Taiwan Relations Act during a joint press conference with Hu, in contrast with the failure to do so prior to the issuance of the Joint Statement in 2009 when Obama was in Beijing, Hsiao said.
That statement said: “The two sides agreed that respecting each other’s core interests is extremely important to ensure steady progress in US-China relations.”
However, US officials have denied that “core interests” referred to Taiwan.
“Compared with the previous Joint Statement, no words that caused harm to Taiwan appeared this time around,” Hsiao said, adding that the DPP was “very pleased.”
Tsai also expressed concerns over the close ties between President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration and Beijing, adding that the DPP hoped Taiwan would instead deepen ties with the US, Japan and other major democratic countries, Hsiao said.
DOMESTIC ISSUES
Turning to more domestic issues, Tsai briefed Stanton and Burghardt on the DPP’s preparations for the upcoming legislative and presidential elections after they inquired about Taiwan’s electoral developments, Hsiao said.
Burgardt, who was on his 10th visit to Taiwan as AIT chairman, is scheduled to leave Taiwan today.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
RSS