Members of the US Congress this week issued statements marking the 36th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
The TRA was passed on April 10, 1979, to form the basis for economic, trade and security ties between the Republic of China and the US following Washington’s decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
“I would like to reiterate Taiwan’s importance to Asian regional prosperity and stability,” said US Representative Matt Salmon, the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Asia and Pacific subcommittee.
“In addition to the six assurances, the TRA has played a fundamental role in developing the robust unofficial relationship shared between the US and Taiwan,” he said.
Salmon said the TRA had allowed the US to facilitate economic growth and provide for Taiwan’s defense.
“Taiwan’s status today as the United States’ 10th-largest trading partner is a testament to the powerful unofficial relationship we share,” he said.
The four co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Taiwan Caucus — representatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Albio Sires, Gerry Connolly and Gregg Harper — have also written to Representative to the US Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) expressing hope that Taipei and Washington would further strengthen their ties.
Salmon said that he believed Taiwan’s participation in more international organizations should be “welcomed and facilitated.”
“I will continue to support opportunities for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in multilateral organizations where statehood is not a required condition of membership,” he said.
In particular, Salmon is pushing for a greater Taiwanese presence in the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Asian Development Bank, the WHO and the International Criminal Police Organization.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS