Yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (
"We express gratitude to the US government for not linking arms sales to Taiwan with the spy-plane collision event," Chen said, "and we ask that the Bush administration work hand-in-hand with Congress in supporting arms sales to Taiwan."
Chen stressed that arms sales are not only a military matter but, more importantly, guarantee Taiwan's democratic tradition and helps reopen cross-strait negotiations.
"Only when Taiwan's security is guaranteed, can Taiwan's democratic tradition continue, allowing Taiwan to have ... the confidence to negotiate with China," he said.
At the same time, Chen urged the US government to help maintain the stability of the Asia-Pacific region by assisting Taiwan and China in constructing a cross-strait confidence-building mechanism.
"The spy plane collision crisis reveals the inability of agreements between China and the US to prevent events of such a nature," Chen said to a US Senate delegation yesterday at the Presidential Office.
"In addition, the `hotline' between the two countries' [US and China] heads is obviously problematic and the new national security task force of Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) only served limited functions [in the crisis]," Chen said. "Therefore, creating a military confidence-building mechanism between Taiwan and China under the US' assistance is of great urgency."
The president went on to say that the fact that China and the US continue to hold different opinions on many important issues proves the existence of uncertainties in their bilateral relationship.
"Taiwan and the US should jointly deal with the changes taking place in China -- including the transition of power, lurking nationalism, and military proliferation," Chen told the US senators.
The president made his remarks when he received a US Senate delegation, comprised of Phil Gramm, Robert Bennett, Jim Bunning, and Mike Crapo. The delegation was originally scheduled to visit China but they visited Taiwan instead because of the spy-plane incident.
Chen praised Bush for handling the plane collision crisis in a well-composed, calm and skillful manner, demonstrating the US government's firm yet flexible stance.
The delegation members said they would endeavor to improve relations between the two countries and help Taiwan enter international organizations.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS