Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said on Monday that Washington’s stance toward Taiwan remains unchanged following US President Barack Obama’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) this month.
King said the US remains committed to providing Taiwan with defensive weapons as stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act, enacted in 1979 when Washington and Taipei severed diplomatic ties.
According to a briefing on the meeting by US officials, the Chinese side raised the issue of Taiwan as it often does, King said. However, the US stance on the matter was firm, and Obama stated clearly from the beginning that the US would provide Taiwan with defensive weapons where necessary.
Photo: CNA
The US also said it was happy to see the two sides of the Taiwan Strait continue to engage in peaceful dialogue and move toward mutually beneficial development. It also hoped that the Taiwan issue could be decided by both sides, especially by the 23 million people on Taiwan, King said. He said the most important aspect of the summit was that it did not change Washington’s stance on Taiwan.
King was also asked about China’s advocacy of building “a new model of major country relationship” with the US.
“As long as it does not undermine the interests of the Republic of China, we are happy to see them further develop better relations,” King said on the sidelines of a ceremony at which Taiwan and Maryland agreed to mutually recognize each other’s driver’s licenses.
Effective immediately, Taiwanese license holders who have legal resident status in Maryland can obtain a Maryland driver’s license without taking the requisite tests. Americans who have a Maryland driver’s license can enjoy reciprocal treatment in Taiwan.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS