Members of a subcommittee of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday decried China’s live-fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait yesterday as “cheap ... and tawdry,” saying that if it was a warning, it would be ignored.
Many Taiwanese hope to maintain the “status quo,” but that is already changing due to China’s rise bringing about a threat, not only to the region, but also to Taiwan’s democracy, US Representative Ted Yoho said.
The US should work with Taiwan to find a solution that would provide a sense of safety for Taiwanese, as well as maintaining Taiwan’s democracy and economic liberty, Yoho said.
Photo: CNA
The US should reconsider its “one China” policy and increase interactions with Taiwan, while encouraging Beijing to interact with Taipei without prerequisites and to abandon the use of force, Project 2049 Institute executive director Mark Stokes said.
Stokes also suggested that the administration of US President Donald Trump assess the possibilities of realizing normal, stable and constructive long-term US-Taiwan relations, and expand interactions within the framework of the Taiwan Relations Act and the Taiwan Travel Act.
Julian Ku (古舉倫), a professor of constitutional law at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Dean School of Law, said the US has been “surprisingly ineffective” in the past regarding its position on Taiwan, despite US Congress on multiple occasions passing motions supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
The US should clearly state that the status of Taiwan must be determined through nonviolent and noncoercive means, Ku said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese