Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday held closed-door talks in Washington with members of the administration of US President Barack Obama, defense officials, senators and members of Congress from both parties to discuss the future of US-Taiwan relations.
Participants in the meeting later refused to comment on the substance of the talks, but a US Department of State source said that they had gone well and that US officials had been impressed by Tsai’s “eloquence.”
A congressional source said that Tsai had been “impressive” and that she had worked hard to convince US officials that a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration would not unnecessarily provoke Beijing.
Photo: CNA
“We could work with her. She has a pragmatic approach and understands the reality of the situation,” the source told the Taipei Times.
At a crowded congressional reception on Wednesday night — about 20 representatives and senators from both sides of the aisle attended — Tsai thanked the US Congress for its “commitments to the security of Taiwan, particularly regarding arms sales that are so critical to our defense.”
“My party believes that today we need to engage in a national dialogue to develop a full ‘Taiwan consensus’ that safeguards our sovereignty and brings us to the table with any and all others as equal partners,” Tsai said.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, heaped praise on Tsai and presented her with a US flag that had been flown earlier in the day over the Capitol building as members rushed forward to be photographed with her.
The reception, held in a committee room in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, attracted officials ranging from American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt to a frail-looking Senator Daniel Inouye, the Democrat who chairs the Defense Appropriations Committee and who could be a major ally in the fight to persuade US President Barack Obama to sell advanced F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan.
Also present was Representative to Washington Jason Yuan (袁健生), who delivered a short speech praising democracy and appeared genuinely pleased to greet Tsai.
The reception was organized and hosted by the Formosa Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), while FAPA executive Coen Blaauw acted as master of ceremonies.
“It is imperative that policymakers in Taiwan understand how Washington works,” FAPA president Bob Yang (楊英育) said.
He said that thanks to Tsai’s leadership, the DPP was again a viable political party ready to take the helm.
Tsai was scheduled to leave Washington for New York and Boston yesterday on a US tour that will take her to Texas and California.
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