Former US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Taipei on Sunday to attend the Republic of China’s centennial celebrations yesterday and to participate in meetings with several officials and academics.
After his arrival, Rumsfeld met Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) and exchanged views on security in the Asia-Pacific region and Taipei-Washington ties. Rumsfeld and Yang also held a press conference in the evening.
Asked about whether it is in the long-term interest of the US not to sell Taiwan more advanced weapons, Rumsfeld said the US would continue reviewing Taiwan’s requests for advanced weapons.
The relationship between the two sides has been “one where the various requests have been made by the government here and the US government has accepted the fact that we have an obligation and responsibility to review those requests,” Rumsfeld said, adding that he believes the situation will continue.
In addition to attending the Double Ten National Day ceremony yesterday, Rumsfeld is scheduled to meet President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) during his three-day visit.
Rumsfeld, who resigned as defense secretary to former US president George W. Bush in November 2006, will also attend a luncheon held by the -Taipei-based Prospect Foundation today, at which he will deliver a speech titled “21st Century Challenges in the Pacific and Beyond,” before wrapping up his visit later that day.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai