US Secretary of State John Kerry held a one-hour breakfast meeting with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on Thursday in New York, discussing issues that included the South China Sea and human rights.
During a briefing given later by a senior US Department of State official, Taiwan was not mentioned.
On the South China Sea, the official said that Kerry underscored the US view that it was very important for all claimants to be consistent with international law.
Kerry also reaffirmed the US’ position that conduct in disputed areas must be “careful and without intimidation.”
Kerry strongly urged that only “diplomatic and peaceful means” be used to address areas of difference, the official said.
“This was not a negotiating session, this was a strategy session,” the official said.
Both Wang and Kerry were in New York for the UN General Assembly.
Sources have told the Taipei Times that during private meetings over the last few days, Wang has discussed arms sales to Taiwan with Pentagon officials and with Kerry.
This follows a lengthy speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington last week when Wang said that the Asia-Pacific region was not only the world’s fastest-growing and most promising region, it was also home to “most of the hotspot issues.”
He also said that the US must respect China’s interests and concerns.
“The ‘Taiwan question’ concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Wang said. “Gradual integration of the two sides through two-way interactions and cooperation will lead to ultimate reunification. This is a historical trend that no one can stop.”
Wang said that for many years, the “Taiwan question” has been a liability in China-US relations that has undermined mutual trust as well as disrupting cooperation.
“However, if the United States can go along with the prevailing trend of peaceful development of cross-strait relations and genuinely appreciate and respect China’s efforts to oppose separation and achieve peaceful reunification, the issue — once a liability and negative factor in our relationship — will be turned into an asset and a positive factor, providing guarantee to the long-term, steady growth of China-US relations and opening [the] prospect for all-round cooperation,” the minister said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS