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.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
RSS