The nation's chief representative in the US called on Washington on Monday to counter China's massive military buildup in Asia.
Beijing has repeatedly threatened to attack should Taiwan formalize its de facto independence.
"Taiwan is prosperous economically, but Taiwan is also under threat," Joseph Wu (
The US has maintained an ambiguous "one China" policy, but has also pledged defensive weapons for Taiwan and hinted that it would provide military backing if China attacked.
In its annual report to Congress, the US Defense Department said that China has been acquiring better missiles, submarines and aircraft and should more fully explain the purpose of the buildup. Nearly 1,000 Chinese missiles are aimed at key Taiwanese military and civilian targets across the 160km-wide Taiwan Strait.
"Taiwan's sovereignty is being put in danger by Chinese tactics," Wu said.
Taiwan and the US should consult more regularly to ease Taipei's concerns about China, he said.
Wu listed China's many advantages over Taiwan: economic, military and political strength; a huge population; and a growing lobbying effort aimed at US lawmakers.
"There's only one thing in which Taiwan has an advantage at this moment: Taiwan is a democracy and China is not," he said.
Wu called on the US to encourage Japan to hold more security talks with Taiwan.
"In future, if there's going to be any conflict between Taiwan and China, I'm sure there will be some actors, including Japan and the United States, that will be drawn into the situation," Wu said.
Wu also acknowledged US concerns about a Taiwan referendum on rejoining the UN under the name Taiwan, which has drawn fierce objections from China and US warnings not to hold the poll.
He said, however, that the referendum enjoys public support.
Taiwan, he said, has "its own domestic momentum."
Wu said the US opposition could boost Taiwanese support for the referendum, noting that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had promoted a referendum proposal similar to that put forward by the Democratic Progressive Party -- an indication that it is "the mainstream view of Taiwanese."
Washington has repeatedly said that any resolution of cross-strait disputes would have to respect the wishes and gain the consent of Taiwanese, he pointed out.
Wu said he believed that the democratic process, including the holding of referendums, would be the key to resolving cross-strait disputes.
He claimed that "China has pushed Taiwan against the wall," noting that Taiwan cannot use its official name of "Republic of China" in the international community and that the other names imposed by China -- such as "Chinese Taipei" or "Taiwan, China" -- had aroused resentment among Taiwanese.
If Taiwan cannot use its official name, then it is "most natural" for it to apply to take part in international activities under the name "Taiwan," he said.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it has lodged a protest with Pretoria after the name of the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa was changed to the “Taipei Commercial Office” on the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s (DIRCO) Web site. In October last year, the South African government asked Taiwan to relocate the Taipei Liaison Office, the nation’s de facto embassy, out of Pretoria. It later agreed to continue negotiating through official channels, but in January asked that the office be relocated by the end of this month. As of the middle of last month, DIRCO’s Web
RSS