The US on Thursday urged Taiwan and China to keep channels of communication open after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed hope in a Washington Post interview that China would show more flexibility in dealing with cross-strait relations.
“The United States has a deep and abiding interest in cross-strait stability. We welcome steps by both sides of the Taiwan Strait to reduce tensions and improve cross-strait relations,” US Department of State East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau spokesperson Grace Choi said.
“We urge both sides to keep channels of communication open,” Choi said via e-mail.
In her interview with the Post, Tsai said that she hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would show more flexibility in dealing with cross-strait relations and “can appreciate that Taiwan is a democratic society in which the leader has to follow the will of the people.”
Tsai also rejected a supposed deadline for Taiwan to accept the so-called “1992 consensus,” saying it is not likely that the government would accept a deadline “for conditions that are against the will of the people.”
The consensus, which Tsai’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party has not accepted, refers to a tacit agreement reached in 1992 between the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait agree there is only “one China,” but each side is free to interpret what it means.
In her e-mail, Choi said Tsai has “consistently noted her public commitment to maintain the ‘status quo’ and work with Beijing in a flexible and creative way,” and the US believes that “clear, direct and consistent communication supports the continued development of cross-strait relations.”
On the question of whether there is any chance for Taiwan to be included in multilateral mechanisms to deal with South China Sea disputes — as Tsai has urged in her interview with the Post — and what the US could do to help, Choi said the US interest is in ensuring that maritime disputes are resolved peacefully, without coercion and in a manner that is consistent with international law.
“Given the complexity of the various disputes, we support claimants having the ability to avail themselves of all available tools to peacefully and lawfully resolve differences,” she said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS