Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu made the suggestion in an exclusive Web interview with Foreign Policy magazine, published by a Washington think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"If the United States could encourage Japan to pass a law like the Taiwan Relations act to regulate the relationship between Japan and Taiwan even without recognition," Lu said. "That would be most helpful."
"Thanks to the Taiwan Relations Act signed into law by [former president] Jimmy Carter in 1979, the substantial relationship between the US and Taiwan has been sustained," she said.
Lu began to advocate a Japanese version of the TRA last year. The idea seemed to gain some support after Feb. 19, when Japan joined the US in declaring maintanance of peace in the Taiwan Strait a joint security concern.
Parris Chang (
He described the Japanese declaration as a promise to defend Taiwan.
The TRA essentially sets out rules that require Washington to treat Taiwan in the same way as it treats internationally-recognized nations in all bilateral dealings. It also commits Washington to sell Taiwan the defensive weapons the country needs, and pledges to maintain the capacity to help defend Taiwan against Chinese military action.
Lu noted that the Canadian parliament is also considering a bill similar to the Taiwan Relations Act, "so it is time to encourage Japan to adopt such a formula."
The bill before the Canadian parliament was introduced in the House of Commons on April 4 by Jim Abbott, a Conservative member from British Columbia. While it copies several provisions directly from the Taiwan Relations Act, and would establish a similar informal diplomatic relationship, it does not contain the defense provisions present in the US act.
The bill, entitled the Taiwan Affairs Act, would apply all laws governing relations with foreign governments to Taiwan, support Taiwan's entry into international organizations, call on China to demilitarize the Taiwan Strait area, and allow Canada to issue visas to Taiwan's president and other top officials.
Canada switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China on Oct. 13, 1970.
In other areas, Lu refused to say whether she is considering running for president in 2008.
"That is a sensitive question that I won't answer," she said. "It's too early to say."
She also said that if China decides to send two pandas to Taiwan, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should be required to take care of them.
Beijing offered to send two pandas to Taiwan at the end of a visit to Beijing in May by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
In her interview, Lu said a main concern would be whether Taiwan could "really take care of" the pandas properly, and that "everything should be done in accordance with international norms regarding the care of endangered species."
If China is "truly in favor of sending the pandas, I wouldn't mind," she said.
"Perhaps the best option is to have the KMT take care of the pandas. The KMT is so rich, so why not?" Lu said.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
RSS