Colin Powell on Wednesday outlined a new US foreign policy before a panel of adoring US lawmakers likely to unanimously recommend his confirmation as secretary of state.
Painting a broad portrait of President-elect George W. Bush's international agenda, Powell said he would prevent any retreat into isolationism but insisted a careful review of US national interests would mark all decisions.
Powell, 63, a wildly-popular former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff who is to become the highest-ranking African-American ever in the US government, met little tough questioning in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee session referred to as a "love fest" by at least one panel member.
On perhaps the most contentious issue -- national missile defense -- Powell was barely challenged and put Beijing and Moscow on notice that Washington, though willing to talk, would not be swayed by objections to it.
"I say we should move forward with the technology as rapidly as possible and if the threat is there and if the threat is real, I am confident that [Bush] will move ahead with deployment," Powell said.
He stressed he would make clear to the Chinese and the Russians that the shield was not directed at them, but at the same time signalled a hardening stance against the two nuclear powers.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
A trial run of the north concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s new Terminal 3 is to commence today, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The eight additional boarding gates would allow for more aircraft parking spaces that are expected to boost the airport’s capacity by 5.8 million passengers annually, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) said. The concourse, designed by a team led by British architect Richard Rogers, provides a refreshing space, Lin said, adding that travelers would enjoy the tall and transparent design that allows sunshine to stream into the concourse through glass curtain walls. The
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
Taiwanese prosecutors charged Tokyo Electron Ltd for failing to prevent staff from allegedly stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets, escalating a dispute involving two Asian linchpins of a chip industry increasingly vital to national and economic security. Prosecutors indicted the Japanese company on four counts of contravening the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) and the National Security Act (國家安全法), they said in a statement yesterday. They’re asking a local court to rule in favor of their request for Tokyo Electron pay a fine of up to NT$120 million (US$3.8 million) for failing in its duty to prevent the alleged
RSS