The US does not take sides and does not “take actions that would imply that we are taking sides” in Taiwan’s elections, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel said on Thursday.
“We respect the people of Taiwan and we respect their ability to select their own leaders,” he said.
Russel was answering questions following a Washington news briefing on US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent visit to Beijing and Seoul.
He had been asked if the US would try to persuade Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to accept or acknowledge the existence of the so-called “1992 consensus” when she visits Washington next month.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having their own interpretation of what “China” means.
Russel said that he would be happy to meet with Tsai and talk about “a range of issues.”
He said he would be equally happy to meet with candidates from the KMT should they choose to visit.
“There is nothing political implied in the fact that Tsai might visit the US and be received by those of us who handle foreign policy,” Russel said.
“The reason we would want to talk to her is because the US has an important long-standing unofficial relationship with Taiwan, and because the US has a huge and long-standing interest in peaceful and stable cross-strait relations,” he said.
Russel said the US valued the steps Taiwan and China have taken to reduce tensions and to improve cross-strait relations on the basis of dignity and respect.
“The substance of where cross-strait relations go and the scope of the interactions between Taiwan and the mainland, those policy issues, are for the people of Taiwan to decide what position they want to take,” he said.
Russel said it was up to the candidates to explain their policies to voters — “and we want to hear from the candidates what their policy is, what their strategy is.”
He insisted that this was not taking sides, but was a “legitimate discussion” about areas where the US had interests and views.
“Given the friendly unofficial relations, the US has an appropriate expectation that a major political candidate would want to talk through and share with us his or her thinking, his or her strategy for managing that important relationship — how they manage it, what they view as the desirable path forward is what we want to hear.”
Russel said that, as the US discusses cross-strait stability with Taiwan’s political parties, it would also be talking to China and “encouraging the leadership in Beijing to exercise patience and to show flexibility and restraint in dealing with the leadership in Taiwan.”
He said that would be in the interests of Taiwan, the region and of the US.
“So, we look forward to Chairwoman Tsai’s visit and look forward to hearing what it is that she has to say,” Russel said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
THE GOOD WORD: More than 100 colleges on both sides of the Pacific will work together to bring students to Taiwan so they can learn Mandarin where it is spoken A total of 102 universities from Taiwan and the US are collaborating in a push to promote Taiwan as the first-choice place to learn Mandarin, with seven Mandarin learning centers stood up in the US to train and support teachers, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) said. At the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held over the weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Taiwan Pavilion was jointly run by 17 representative teams from the FICHET, the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu, the
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
MORE RETALIATION: China would adopt a long-term pressure strategy to prevent other countries or future prime ministers following in Sanae Takaichi’s steps, an academic said Taiwan should maintain communications with Japan, as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is to lead a revision of security documents, Taiwanese academics said yesterday. Tensions have risen between Japan and China over remarks by Takaichi earlier this month that the use of force against Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) yesterday said Takaichi’s stance regarding Taiwan is the same as past Japanese prime ministers, but her position is clearer than that of her predecessors Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba. Although Japan views a “Taiwan contingency” as a “survival-threatening situation,” which would allow its military to
RSS