The US on Monday said it is pleased to see Taiwan has received an invitation to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), but avoided commenting on the WHO’s mention of the “one China” principle in the invitation letter.
US Department of State Office of Press Relations director Elizabeth Trudeau reiterated US support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA when asked about the WHO’s invitation.
“We are pleased that Taiwan has received an invitation to this year’s World Health Assembly taking place May 23 through 28,” Trudeau said.
Taiwan has participated as an observer in the WHA for the past seven years, she said, adding that the US “strongly supports such WHA participation and Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the work of the World Health Organization-related activities.”
“Taiwan has made important contributions to global health, and its participation in the WHA and in the work of the WHO contributes to a safer, healthier world,” she said.
Asked about the mention of the “one China” principle in the invitation, Trudeau said the US remains committed to its “one China” policy based on the Three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, but she did not comment further.
Responding to an e-mail on the WHA invitation, US Department of State Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen said the future of cross-strait relations is for the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait to decide.
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
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