The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Washington Office managing director John Norris on Saturday said that he expects Taiwan-US relations to advance during US President Donald Trump’s tenure as stability across the Taiwan Strait remains a core interest to the US.
Speaking at an annual meeting with overseas Taiwanese in Washington, Norris said the US will continue to commit to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), the US legislation governing relations with Taiwan.
The Asia-Pacific region is of interest to the US and peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait benefits the US, he said.
Although there could be different approaches to maintaining US interests in the area under different administrations, the TRA will remain the top principle when handling related affairs, he said.
The TRA was enacted in 1979 to maintain commercial, cultural and other unofficial relations between Taiwan and the US after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The TRA also requires the US “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character.”
Taiwan’s representative to the US Stanley Kao (高碩泰), who also attended the meeting, said he is optimistic about Taiwan-US relations under the Trump administration.
Stephen Yates, an adviser to Trump’s transition team and a deputy national security adviser to then-US vice president Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005, said he believes there will be many new opportunities for cooperation this year for both Taiwan-US relations and US-China relations.
In a separate event on Saturday, former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) said that the Trump administration poses more of an opportunity than a challenge for Taiwan, adding that the nation should take the opportunity to improve relations with the US.
Yu made the remark in New York after concluding a visit to the US at the head of a Taiwanese delegation attending Trump’s inauguration ceremony in Washington.
He said that in addition to extending congratulations to Trump, the delegation visited think tanks and the Washington-based AIT, and met with members of the US Senate and House of Representatives to allow them to understand Taiwan’s ideas and sincerity regarding the development of bilateral relations.
Yu said in his meetings with US representatives that he hopes to further Taiwan-US economic and trade cooperation, joint efforts toward peace in the Asia-Pacific region and US support for Taiwan’s international participation.
He also told the representatives that Taiwan understands the importance Trump attaches to the US economy and his “America first” policy, as well as his questioning of Beijing’s “one China” principle, he said.
Yu said he made it clear that Taiwan wants to sign a free-trade agreement with the US to consolidate bilateral economic and trade relations.
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
RSS