China’s increasingly provocative rhetoric and actions against Taiwan are “deeply destabilizing,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a key China policy speech on Thursday. “Beijing is engaged in increasingly provocative rhetoric and activity, like flying PLA [Chinese People’s Liberation Army] aircraft near Taiwan on an almost daily basis,” Blinken said in the 45-minute speech at George Washington University in Washington, during which he outlined the US administration’s policy toward China. “These words and actions are deeply destabilizing,” and “risk miscalculation and threaten the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” he said. Blinken said that the US would manage its relationship with China “responsibly” to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which he said is “a matter of international concern” and “critical to regional and global security, and prosperity.” However, Blinken said that US policy on Taiwan has not changed. The US “remains committed to our ‘one China’ policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques [and] the six assurances,” he said. “We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We do not support Taiwan independence and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means,” he added. Blinken said that the US would continue to uphold its commitment to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defense capability in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, which has served as the foundation for Taiwan-US relations since 1979. The US would also “maintain our capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security or the social or economic system of Taiwan,” he said. Blinken also said that the US would continue to expand its cooperation with Taiwan on many shared interests and values. That includes deepening bilateral economic ties and supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community, he said. In
China is today to hold naval exercises in the South China Sea, its maritime authority said, as China’s foreign ministry yesterday accused US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of “smearing” the country. The exercises, set to take place less than 25km off Hainan Province, follow US-led warnings over China’s growing military and economic presence in an area spanning from the South China Sea to the Pacific islands. “Military exercises will be held and entry is prohibited,” the Chinese Maritime Safety administration said in a statement on Thursday, warning that an area of about 100km2 would be closed off to maritime traffic for five hours. China routinely conducts similar drills in waters near its shores, with an exercise in another area of the sea near Hainan scheduled for next week, as well as multiple others along the country’s eastern coastline. The latest exercises are to start as Beijing faces a growing chorus of warnings from the US and Western allies over its naval ambitions, which critics say are a beachhead for a wider attempt to change the regional balance of power. “Beijing has engaged in increasingly provocative rhetoric and activity” near Taiwan, Blinken said on Thursday, as he called for efforts to counterbalance China’s “intent to reshape the international order.” He also said that Beijing has “cut off Taiwan’s relations with countries around the world and [is] blocking it from participating in international organizations.” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) told reporters in Beijing that the US “spreads false information, exaggerates the China threat, interferes in China’s internal affairs and smears China’s domestic and foreign policies.” He added that China “firmly opposed” Blinken’s comments, which showed that Washington sought to “contain and suppress China’s development and maintain US hegemony and power.”
NEW APPROACH: The talks came after the US announced that Taiwan would not be a part of its IPEF, after some of the participants said they feared retribution from Beijing
Taiwan and the US are planning to announce negotiations to deepen economic ties, people familiar with the matter said, as Beijing cautioned Washington against getting too close to Taipei. The talks would focus on enhancing economic cooperation and supply-chain resiliency, falling short of a traditional free-trade agreement, the people said. The deal is likely to include areas of trade facilitation, supply-chain work and trade in agricultural products, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a public announcement. Those elements are similar to the pillars in the 13-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that US President Joe Biden announced on Monday during his visit to Tokyo. While a bipartisan group of lawmakers wanted Taiwan in that group, it was excluded because some nations that agreed to join refused to have Taipei included over fear of retribution from Beijing, people familiar with the process said. The talks are an effort to elevate the US-Taiwan economic relationship, the people said, and would go beyond existing discussions under a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the two governments. A US Trade Representative spokesman declined to comment on the plans for talks on deepening bilateral economic engagement. A spokesperson for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US did not respond to a request for comment. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) told Bloomberg TV this week that she and her Taiwanese counterpart, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), had “very positive conversations” when they met in Bangkok last Saturday. “We are committed to deepening and enhancing the bilateral trade and economic relationship, and we instructed our teams to work over the course of the next couple of weeks on that deepening and enhancement,” Tai said. The two agreed to meet again in the coming weeks to discuss the path forward, the US Trade Representative said in a readout. A large Taiwanese government
The COVID-19 pandemic has reached a plateau, with cases at a high but stable level, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it announced single-day records of 94,808 domestic infections and 126 deaths. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that infections could stay near the current level for another two weeks before declining. “Overall, daily cases have remained stable,” he told the CECC’s daily news conference. “They have plateaued in the past week or so. We hope this peak will soon pass.” Hospital beds earmarked for COVID-19 patients were at 59 percent occupancy and the load on medical resources remained stable, Chen said, although he added that the government was closely watching the number of fatalities. “We are on high alert and watching this number closely,” he said, urging hospitals to allocate enough intensive care units for COVID-19 patients. Children aged up to 6 would receive five free rapid testing kits from Wednesday to June 30, the CECC said. Allocation would be made based on the last digit of the recipient’s national identification card or Alien Resident Certificate, with odd numbers able to pick up test kits on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and even numbers on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, it said. Anyone can pick up test kits on a Sunday. However, the kits cannot be used on children aged 2 or younger, the center said, adding that their allocations could be used by parents or caregivers. Meanwhile, the Sports Administration yesterday said that people who have not had three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could return to gyms, as long as they wear a mask at all times. Asked whether the policy would extend to other venues with the restriction, Chen said that “it is best if not.” The announcement followed another policy change on Thursday for incoming migrant workers, who
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday trimmed its forecast for the nation’s GDP growth this year to 3.91 percent, from 4.42 percent previously, as energy price hikes constrain global economic activity. “Though unable to achieve 4 percent growth, Taiwan would outperform the world, with global growth estimated at 2.9 percent,” DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said, citing global research body IHS Markit. Inflationary pressures proved worse than expected following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, while China’s COVID-19 lockdowns of major industrial and commercial cities last month were another blow, Chu said. Major Taiwanese firms have opened manufacturing facilities in China to take advantage of relatively cheap labor and land costs, he said. The US Federal Reserve and other major central banks have raised interest rates to combat inflation and thus rocked global financial markets, as seen in ongoing stock and bond price corrections, he said. A negative wealth effect would weigh on consumer spending in Taiwan, which is already being affected by a domestic COVID-19 outbreak, Chu said. People have stayed home to avoid getting infected, as business slumps at retailers, hospitality service providers, travel agencies and recreational facilities, the statistics agency said. That prompted the DGBAS to slash annual growth for private consumption to 3.1 percent this year, a significant decrease of 2 percentage points from three months earlier. The COVID-19 outbreak could remove 0.5 to 0.7 percentage points from GDP growth, Chu said. Private investment, a main growth driver due to aggressive capacity expansions by local semiconductor firms, is forecast to advance 4.61 percent, down by 1.04 percentage points due primarily to price adjustments, the DGBAS said. Consumer prices are expected to pick up 2.67 percent, an upward revision of 0.74 percentage points, given that Taiwan relies on imports to meet more than 90 percent of its energy needs. Chu said that the projected inflation
TRAGIC LOSSES: Among yesterday’s 104 reported deaths were a one-year-old girl who died of septic shock and a four-year-old who had developed encephalitis, the CECC said
The government is to provide free COVID-19 antigen rapid test kits to middle and low-income households, as well as long-term care facility residents, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said yesterday, as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported a record death toll for the second consecutive day. Every member of a middle or low-income family is to receive five COVID-19 rapid test kits for free, and each resident of a long-term care facility would receive three, Lo told reporters after the Cabinet’s weekly meeting. Providing the tests would help ease the financial burden of the pandemic for about 800,000 people, Lo cited Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as telling the Cabinet. Meanwhile, despite the wide availability of rapid test kits at pharmacies and convenience stores, the government would continue to supply the kits to local governments and schools, Lo said. Su told the Cabinet that the priority at this stage is to preserve hospitals’ capacity to treat people who have developed moderate or severe symptoms. After being briefed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare at the meeting, Su told the Cabinet that the domestic outbreak has begun to plateau, with 99.8 percent of confirmed cases being asymptomatic or mild, Lo said. The announcement came as the CECC reported 81,907 new cases — 81,852 domestic infections and 55 imported — and a daily record 104 deaths. The nation’s previous daily record for deaths was 76 on Wednesday. Yesterday’s reported deaths ranged in age from 1 to older than 90, including 97 people who had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, the CECC said. Among the fatalities were two girls under the age of 5 — a one-year-old who died of septic shock after contracting COVID-19, and a four-year-old who had developed encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, and had multiple organ failure, it said. The CECC said that 91 people
BIG EFFORT: After a probe in March, the Investigation Bureau teamed up with prosecutors’ offices in five areas to search firms for suspected talent poaching
Authorities this week raided 10 Chinese firms and questioned more than 70 people as part of a crackdown on suspected poaching of talent from Taiwanese semiconductor and high-tech sectors, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau said yesterday. From Monday to yesterday, the bureau performed a series of unannounced raids in coordination with prosecutors in Hsinchu, New Taipei City, Taipei and Taoyuan, it said in a statement. “The illegal poaching of Taiwan’s high-tech talent by Chinese companies has badly impacted our international competitiveness and endangered our national security,” the bureau said in a statement. Taipei prosecutors earlier announced that they on Tuesday raided the local unit of GigaDevice Semiconductor (HK) Ltd (香港商香港商芯技佳易微電子) on suspicion of illegal recruitment. On March 9, the bureau began investigating talent poaching, finding legal contraventions by 11 firms, it said. “The Chinese firms have been found to have circumvented our nation’s laws and restrictions, by concealing their actual ownership and financial sources, by individuals registering as locations as personal offices and by Chinese firms registering in Taiwan as an investment through a third country,” it said. That investigation led the bureau to start the most recent probe and resulting raids, involving more than 100 bureau personnel intent on determining the full extent of Chinese recruitment operations in Taiwan, it said. Working with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, the bureau raided four offices in and around Taipei, serving summonses to owners and executives of the Chinese-backed firms, including XEPIC Corp (芯華章科技), the parent of which is based in Nanjing, China, and is focused on electronic design automation software. The others were Lianchuang Innovation Co (聯創創新), a Shenzhen company specializing in Internet of Things products, and the local unit of GigaDevice Semiconductor (Beijing) Inc (北京兆易創新科技), it said, adding that it was questioning GigaDevice’s Taiwan director Wang Wen-hao (汪文浩). In New Taipei City, investigators searched Joulwatt Semiconductor Co (杰華特微電子),
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday accused the world’s largest free-diving organization of self-censorship, after it tried to make Taiwanese divers compete under the name “Chinese Taipei.” The International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA), which organizes free-diving competitions around the world, held this year’s AIDA Caribbean Cup on the Honduran island of Roatan from May 15 through Tuesday. Huang Ming-chun (黃明峻) placed second in the constant weight without fins category with a national record-setting 63m dive, while Lien Lin-lan (連林嵐) set new national records in free immersion and constant weight apnea. Huang on Wednesday wrote on Facebook that the two athletes had found that their nationality had been altered from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei” on the schedule published before the event began. Huang and Lien immediately protested the change to AIDA, which relented only after the two divers threatened to drop out of the competition, he wrote. The ministry in a statement yesterday said that it “lauds Huang and Lien for their tireless efforts in defending the dignity of the nation and competing brilliantly as athletes of Taiwan.” “AIDA’s decision to change the name of our country stemmed from political self-censorship. These actions caused offense to the dignity of our country and the rights of our athletes, which the ministry condemns with righteous indignation,” it said. Taiwan urges the organization to respect the opinions expressed by the overwhelming majority of its members, and the professionalism and integrity of sports, instead of bowing to China’s undue political influence, it added. “Beijing’s ceaseless campaign to denigrate Taiwanese athletes in international sports events serves only to elicit the distaste of Taiwanese, causes further damage to China’s image and reveals the totalitarian nature of the Chinese Communist Party government,” the statement said. The organization last year removed Taiwan’s flag from a live broadcast of the AIDA Individual Depth Freediving World Championship
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called on Pacific island countries to heed China’s true purpose behind its aid, as Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) arrived in the Solomon Islands at the start of an eight-nation tour. His visit came amid growing concerns about Beijing’s military and financial ambitions in the South Pacific region, after a draft document was leaked showing that he hoped to strike a sweeping agreement with 10 Pacific nations on everything from security to fisheries. In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) said that it would continue to pay close attention to Wang’s visit. Since China launched its Belt and Road Initiative, countries such as Sri Lanka have been caught in a debt trap, and hit by major crises to their economies and social development, he said. Tensions in the region have been heightened by Beijing’s ambition to expand its power through military strategies, a clear example of which is China signing a security deal with the Solomon Islands, he added. The ministry called on countries in the region to recognize that China intends to expand its authoritarian power, Tsuei said, adding that only freedom and democracy can bring stability. Taiwan has strong relationships with Pacific allies and is committed to continue working with like-minded countries to create a free, open, peaceful and prosperous Pacific region, he said. In Honiara, Wang commented on reports about a leaked security agreement, which contained a provision that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomon Islands. “It is not imposed on anyone, nor is it targeted at any third party. There is no intention at all to establish a military base,” Wang told a news conference after meeting with Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeremiah Manele. Australia’s former government, toppled in elections last week, had said that any move
Japan is set to allow in some package-tour tourists from overseas starting on June 10, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday, ending a ban that was introduced about two years ago as part of the country’s COVID-19 control program. “Active exchanges between people are the foundation of the economy and society,” Kishida said in a speech at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo. “From the 10th of next month, we will restart the admission of tourists on guided package tours.” He added that preparations would begin to allow international flights to land at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido and Naha Airport in Okinawa starting next month. Tourist numbers are likely to remain limited at first. Japan has already announced it would double its cap on arrivals from overseas to 20,000 per day starting next month, although this remains far below the levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. Kishida pledged in a London speech to make it as easy to enter Japan as other G7 nations. Kishida has come under pressure from business lobbies to further open the borders, as the travel industry is losing out on what could have been a windfall from the weak yen. The prime minister must also avoid alienating a public wary of the potential health implications ahead of a July election for the Japanese House of Councilors. A poll published by Mainichi Shimbun over the weekend found that 43 percent of respondents were in favor of relaxing border controls, while 41 percent were against the idea. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said this month that the easing of restrictions would mean about 80 percent of arrivals would be able to enter the country without undergoing testing on arrival, or quarantine. Countries and regions would be divided into three categories — red, yellow and blue — depending on their assessed virus
INFORMATION LEAKED: Documents from Xinjiang purportedly showed top leaders in Beijing calling for a forceful crackdown and even orders to shoot to kill
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday held a videoconference with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet as she visited Xinjiang during a mission overshadowed by fresh allegations of Uighur abuses and fears she is being used as a public relations tool. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been accused of detaining more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in the region as part of a years-long crackdown the US and lawmakers in other Western nations have labeled a “genocide.” China denies the allegations. Bachelet was expected to visit the cities of Urumqi and Kashgar on a six-day tour. The US has reiterated its view that Bachelet’s visit was a mistake after the release of thousands of leaked documents and photographs from inside the system of mass incarceration this week. Rights advocates have voiced concern that Beijing would prevent Bachelet from conducting a thorough probe into alleged rights abuses and instead give her a stage-managed tour, but Xi defended his nation’s human rights progress during the videoconference, according to a readout from state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), which did not say whether Xinjiang was mentioned by either side. “Human rights issues should also not be politicized, instrumentalized or treated with double standards,” CCTV quoted Xi as saying. China has “a human rights development path that ... suits its national conditions,” he added. CCTV reported Xi as telling Bachelet that there is no “ideal nation” on human rights. He added that there is “no need for a ‘teacher’ who is bossy towards other countries” — an apparent reference to public criticisms of the trip by US and British officials. According to the CCTV readout, Bachelet said the UN Human Rights Office is “willing to strengthen cooperation with the Chinese side.” She was also reported to have said: “I admire China’s efforts and achievements in eradicating poverty, protecting human
China is seeking a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific island nations covering policing, security and data communications cooperation when Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents seen by Reuters showed, while an Australian official is due in Suva today. A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a foreign ministers meeting on Monday next week has prompted pushback from at least one of the invited nations, which says it showed China’s intent to control the region and “threatens regional stability.” In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders, Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo said that his nation would argue the “predetermined joint communique” should be rejected, because he fears it could spark a new “cold war” between China and the West. Wang is to visit eight Pacific island nations that China holds diplomatic ties with from today until Saturday next week. He is to arrive today in the Solomon Islands. The China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision draft document, as well as a five-year action plan, has been circulated by Beijing ahead of the meeting in Fiji. It says that China and the Pacific islands are to “strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of traditional and nontraditional security.” “China will hold intermediate and high-level police training for Pacific island countries through bilateral and multilateral means,” the document says. The action plan outlines a ministerial dialogue on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation to be held this year, and China providing forensic police laboratories. The draft communique also pledges cooperation on data networks, cybersecurity, smart customs systems and for Pacific islands to “take a balanced approach to technological progress, economic development and protection of national security.” The communique also proposes a China-Pacific islands free-trade area, and support for action on
VACCINES FOR KIDS: An official said data showed that the rate of severe infections among kids is relatively low in Taiwan, while a vaccine for ages 5-11 became available
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 89,352 new local COVID-19 infections and 76 deaths, the highest daily death count. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said that 37 imported cases were reported. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said that of the new local cases, 191 were moderate or severe, accounting for 0.17 and 0.06 percent respectively of all local cases this year. CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that 73 of the people whose deaths were confirmed yesterday had underlying health conditions, 31 were unvaccinated and 50 did not receive a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Two of the deaths were people in their 30s, Lo said. One was a woman with a cardiovascular disease who died of pneumonia and septic shock, he said, adding that she received only one vaccine dose. The other was a man who had cancer and was unvaccinated, he said, adding that he died of pneumonia, respiratory failure and cancer. A six-year-old boy was listed as a severe case, Lo said. The boy has asthma and allergic rhinitis, Lo said. The boy had a fever, chills and loss of appetite on Saturday last week after a family member was diagnosed with COVID-19, and later had consciousness issues, vomiting and convulsions, Lo said. The boy was hospitalized with a fever of up to 42.7°C and low blood pressure, Lo said, adding that he tested positive for COVID-19 and was transferred to a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) and intubated. The boy developed pneumonia and brain edema, and was diagnosed with COVID-19-induced pneumonia and encephalitis, Lo said. He is being treated with corticosteroids, immunomodulators, medication to lower intracranial pressure and remdesivir, Lo said. There have been 15 severe cases of COVID-19
The Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU) and the National Train Drivers’ Union (NTDU) yesterday canceled a planned Dragon Boat Festival strike following a meeting, TRLU chairman Chen Shih-chieh (陳世杰) said. The decision to work overtime during the Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ten National Day depends on the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ response to union demands, Chen said. The unions on International Workers’ Day on May 1 staged a strike to protest after saying that the ministry has not shared all of the details regarding plans to corporatize the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA). “We have not yet reached a consensus on most of the opinions discussed during the meeting, but the decision not to go on strike during the Dragon Boat Festival is final,” Chen said. The decision was due to a decline in ridership amid the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan, he said, adding that were the TRLU to continue with the planned strike, it would affect the unions, the TRA and passengers. The TRLU also said that the ministry and the Executive Yuan had agreed to the unions’ demands on safety, that the government would discuss the formulation of ancillary laws with the unions, and the government would pay the TRA’s debt, prioritize TRA assets and address workers’ rights, he said. “We felt that a reasonable amount of goodwill should be reciprocated,” Chen said. The unions’ demands would result in the creation of a safety committee that would include employers and employees, while the drafting of ancillary legislation must be discussed by employers and employees, he said. In terms of workers’ rights, the new corporate entity should resolve low wages and subsidies prevalent in the TRA, and should also legalize subsidies given to TRA staff, the railway labor union said. Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kuo-tsai (王國材) praised the unions’ decision and said it was a good
US policy on Taiwan is shifting toward “constructive clarity,” meaning clarity in objective while maintaining strategic flexibility, a defense expert said yesterday. US President Joe Biden’s vow on Monday to defend Taiwan militarily has set off a wave of speculation about its implications, particularly around the long-standing US policy of “strategic ambiguity.” Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that Biden’s statement was clearly meant to deter Beijing, but no conclusions can be drawn from the president’s comments alone. Based on the statements on Taiwan from US lawmakers and officials, Su suggested a different framework for understanding the subtle changes in US policy. Rather than “strategic ambiguity” or its counterpart, “strategic clarity,” Su said that a more objective description might be “constructive clarity.” That is, the US is clear in its goal of maintaining the “status quo,” but is ambiguous about how it intends to do so, he told a forum held by the institute in Taipei. However, it is important for Taiwan to not remain a passenger, he said, adding that only by enhancing its defense capabilities would its allies be confident and willing enough to assist. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) reiterated Taiwan’s commitment to self-defense in an interview with US National Public Radio aired on Tuesday, saying it would draw lessons on asymmetric warfare from Ukraine. “Defending Taiwan is our own responsibility,” Wu said. “What we need is international support — speaking out ... and to provide us with the necessary means for us to be able to defend ourselves.” “We are taking the war in Ukraine into very serious internal discussions,” Wu said in the interview, which was recorded late last week. “The Ukrainian people are very brave, and one of the tactics that has been successful so far is the asymmetric capability,” he added.
SUBTLE? While Biden said the US policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ on Taiwan had not changed, the group targeted China and Russia without naming them
Leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US yesterday warned against attempts to “change the status quo by force,” as concerns grow about whether China could invade Taiwan. The issue of Taiwan loomed over a leadership meeting in Tokyo of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) nations — the US, Japan, Australia and India — who stressed their determination to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region in the face of an increasingly assertive China, although Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the group was not targeting any one country. The four leaders said in a joint statement issued after their talks that they “discussed their respective responses to the conflict in Ukraine and the ongoing tragic humanitarian crisis.” However, US President Joe Biden Biden’s comments on Taiwan, which was not even on the official agenda at the Quad meeting, were the focus of much of the attention of the delegations and media. Biden said that there was no change to a US policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan, a day after he angered China by saying he would be willing to use force to defend the democratic nation. While Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long followed a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily to protect it in the event of a Chinese attack — a convention Biden appeared to break on Monday. Asked if there had been any change to the US policy on Taiwan, Biden yesterday said: “No.” “The policy has not changed at all. I stated that when I made my statement yesterday,” he said after the talks with his Quad colleagues. The group’s statement did not mention Russia or China, but listed a range of activities that Beijing has been accused of in the region. “We strongly oppose any coercive,
Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Monday refrained from directly commenting on US President Joe Biden’s vow to defend Taiwan militarily, instead stressing that Taiwan’s primary focus is on its ability to defend itself. Asked about Biden’s remarks, Hsiao said that maintaining self-defense capabilities is of great importance to Taiwan. Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait serves the interests of all stakeholders in the region and should be a collective responsibility, she said, adding that Taipei would continue to work with the US and other partners on the issue. Hsiao thanked Washington for reaffirming its support for Taiwan and its commitment to the nation’s security, while citing US officials as saying that US policy toward Taiwan had not changed. At a news conference in Tokyo on Monday, when asked: “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?” Biden answered: “Yes. It’s a commitment we made.” Biden’s response sent his advisers scrambling to walk back the statement and drew criticism from Beijing. When asked yesterday, Biden said that the US’ policy of “strategic ambiguity” had not changed. As for Taiwan’s exclusion from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Hsiao said that Taiwan would continue communicating with the US to find a way to take part. Experts are divided on the significance of Biden’s apparently off-the-cuff comments, with some saying he was deliberately trying to downplay Washington’s policy of “strategic ambiguity,” while others criticized it as complicating an already unclear position. Even some who favor jettisoning “strategic ambiguity” have criticized the president, saying that his muddying of the issue risks accelerating China’s desire to act, without carrying the muscle of a formal security guarantee. Other policy analysts, such as David Sacks, a research fellow at the US Council on Foreign Relations, said that Biden’s extensive foreign policy experience, and the context in
Nearly half of Taiwanese believe President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has not done enough to prepare the nation against Chinese aggression, the a poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. Asked whether the Tsai administration’s military and non-military preparations to defend Taiwan are adequate, 30.6 percent said they were “mostly inadequate” and 18.9 percent said they “very inadequate,” while 25.7 percent said they were “mostly adequate” and 7.1 percent said they were “very adequate.” Another 17.6 percent had no opinion or did not know enough to form a judgement. Still, 51 percent of respondents approved of Tsai’s national defense policy, while 35 percent disapproved, the poll showed. Of the respondents, 46.2 percent approved of Tsai’s policies in general, while 39.5 percent expressed disapproval. Asked about Tsai’s handling of cross-strait relations, 35.3 percent said they “mostly approve” and 14.2 percent said they “highly approve” of her performance, while 20.2 percent said they “highly disapprove” and 19 percent said they “mostly disapprove.” The approval rating for Tsai’s overall foreign policy was 56.7 percent, while the disapproval rating was 33.9 percent. Of the respondents, 47.4 percent approved of Tsai’s economic policies, while 44.8 percent disapproved. Regarding the promotion of judicial reforms by the Tsai administration, 37.4 percent said they approved of the efforts and 43.9 percent said they disapproved. The results suggest that Taiwanese are anxious about the nation’s defense preparedness and highly disappointed with judicial reform, the foundation said. The poll collected responses from 1,077 Taiwanese aged 20 or older by landline. It has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
The policy of using a positive COVID-19 rapid test result for diagnosis could be expanded to the public starting tomorrow, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 82,363 new domestic cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, last week announced that the policy of recognizing a positive COVID-19 rapid test result, after being assessed by a doctor, as the main tool for diagnosis would eventually be expanded to include everyone and could take effect this week. The center has been discussing with hospitals the details of transforming their polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing stations into “three-in-one” stations that assess people’s rapid tests and prescribe drugs if needed, while offering some PCR testing capacity, Chen said. The time it takes for doctors to confirm a person’s test and prescribe drugs would take longer than to perform a PCR nasal swab, so patient flow and related details are still being discussed, but if the preparations are completed, the center could announce expanding the policy to the public tomorrow, he said. The policy would accelerate the process of COVID-19 diagnosis and enable people to start taking drugs earlier, Chen said, adding that 7,431 courses of antivirals were prescribed on Monday, including 5,680 courses of Paxlovid and 1,571 courses of molnupiravir. Meanwhile, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said 72 imported cases were also reported yesterday. CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said the peak of the local outbreak is expected to fall between late this month and early next month, but as eliminating the virus is impossible, case numbers could still fluctuate. Asked why the daily case count has not reached the peak of more than 100,000 estimated by the center, Chen said the trend
SHOW OF OUTRAGE: Diplomats from European nations attended the hearing at which five democracy advocates were charged over their involvement in a protest fund
Ninety-year-old retired Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君) yesterday appeared in a Hong Kong court charged with failing to properly register a protest defense fund, after he was initially arrested under the territory’s National Security Law. Zen, one of the highest-ranking Catholic clerics in Asia, was among five prominent democracy advocates — including singer Denise Ho (何韻詩) and veteran human rights barrister Margaret Ng (吳靄儀) — who were detained earlier this month. The group acted as trustees of a now-defunct fund that helped pay legal and medical costs for those arrested during huge and sometimes violent democracy protests three years ago. They were arrested for “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces,” but have not yet been charged with that offense. Instead, all five of the fund’s former trustees and its secretary were charged yesterday with failing to register it as a “society” with police — a non-national security offense that can incur a fine of up to HK$10,000 (US$1,274) for a first conviction. Each of the defendants, apart from democracy activist Cyd Ho (何秀蘭), who is already serving a jail sentence for unauthorized assembly, were present in court. All entered a plea of not guilty. The trial is to begin on Sept. 19. The investigation into the “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund” was triggered when one of the group, cultural studies academic Hui Po-keung (許寶強), was intercepted at Hong Kong’s airport on May 10 as he tried to leave to take up an academic post in Europe. Diplomats from multiple European countries, including Germany, France, Sweden and Italy, attended yesterday’s hearing. Zen’s arrest in particular has triggered outrage from Western nations, who have accused China of eviscerating the freedoms it once promised Hong Kong. The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong issued a statement after the hearing, saying it would “closely monitor the