Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown — one of Taiwan’s best friends on Capitol Hill — might be offered a place on the US Democratic presidential ticket if former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the party’s nomination as expected.
Two US TV networks and highly respected political newspaper The Hill have all named 63-year-old Brown as being under consideration to be Clinton’s vice presidential running mate.
A founding member of the Taiwan Caucus and an enthusiastic supporter of nearly all pro-Taiwan issues, Brown could become a major ally in the White House.
The Hill pointed out that Clinton is struggling to attract white working-class voters and Brown could be a huge help.
“I put Sherrod Brown at the front of the line as a potential running mate for Hillary,” one National Broadcasting Corp commentator said.
Brown is playing down the prospect, saying that he loves working for the people of Ohio, but that has done little to dampen speculation.
US Republican front-runner Donald Trump is winning the support of huge numbers of white working-class voters, not only from his own party, but also from independents and moderate Democrats.
Brown’s strong stand on creating manufacturing jobs — particularly in northern industrial states — and his push for a higher minimum wage might go far in countering Trump’s appeal should Trump win the Republican nomination.
A few years ago, Brown said that he was “dreaming of the day” when US policy would support one China and one Taiwan.
“The miracle of Taiwan is something that the people have earned and it is up to us to help them keep it,” he said.
On another occasion, Brown said: “I urge the international community in general, and the US in particular, to actively assist Taiwan in exercising its universal right to self-determination by recognizing Taiwan’s independent status and by pressing for its admission into various international organizations as a full participant.”
Coen Blaauw, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, one of the most active Taiwanese-US groups in Washington, said: “Sherrod Brown is a great friend of Taiwan. He is always on the side of the underdog, fighting for democracy.”
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported