US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns on Thursday reaffirmed Washington’s adherence to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) during a meeting with Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Wang Yi (王毅).
Wang, who is in the US on a regular visit, also met senior White House officials, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, members of Congress and academics, including former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, Richard Bush and Kenneth Lieberthal from the Brookings Institution, and Alan Romberg of the Stimson Center.
During his meeting with Burns, Wang said he hoped the US would continue to play an active role in the process of relations across the Taiwan Strait, adding that “positive developments” in the strait could help Sino-US relations develop along the lines of mutual trust rather than friction.
China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency made no mention of Burns’ reaffirming Washington’s adherence to the TRA in its coverage of his talks with Wang.
Taiwan remains the most sensitive and important issue between the US and China, Wang said, reaffirming Beijing’s opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan.
Turning to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inaugural address on May 20, Wang said he hoped Ma would emphasize the need to ensure the current momentum on relations between Taipei and Beijing.
Although China looks forward to entering political dialogue with Taiwan, Wang said cross-strait negotiations would for the time being continue to focus on economics.
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) itself requires a lot of negotiation, while talks on financial, industrial and investment cooperation have entered “a relatively difficult stage,” he said.
Wang and US officials did not discuss the recent proposal by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) of a “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” framework. However, asked to comment on the subject during a meeting with academics on Wednesday, he said the formula was an important step toward achieving “positive progress” in cross-strait relations and set the tone for party-to-party exchanges.
As the “one country, two areas” proposal remains controversial among Taiwanese, some US academics opined that China was also being placed in an awkward position.
While Beijing likes the Ma government’s take on the “one country” concept, it, however, does not wish to publicly embrace Ma’s point that the “one country” refers to the Republic of China, US academics said.
Meanwhile, sources confirmed the US was not informed beforehand of Wu’s “one country, two areas” proposal.
From how things have proceeded from Ma’s proposal of cross-strait peace accords late last year to the recently touted “one country, two areas” concept, there appears to be a need for Taiwan to enhance its communications with the US, sources said.
Additional reporting by Nadia Tsao
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust