Leading members of Congress have written to US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to stress the importance of the “six assurances” that former US president Ronald Reagan gave to Taiwan.
The letter is the result of considerable discomfort felt by members of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus after Panetta revealed recently that China had been informed in advance of a public announcement of new arms sales to Taipei.
There is widespread fear on Capitol Hill that informing Beijing before a public announcement could eventually lead to consultation about the actual weapons being sold.
The members of Congress say that the six assurances should be looked upon as a second cornerstone — after the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) — of US policy toward Taiwan.
Their letter says: “We noted that, during your recent trip to Asia, you commented on China’s reaction to the September 2011 US arms sales to Taiwan.”
“While expressing appreciation for Beijing’s ‘professional and diplomatic’ reaction, you stated that the [US President Barack] Obama Administration had ‘given the Chinese a heads up as to what was going to take place,’” the letter says. “While notifying the Chinese of -decisions regarding US arms sales to Taiwan does not explicitly violate the six assurances, we hope that such notification has not and will not lead to any consultations with the Chinese government prior to a decision to sell arms to Taiwan.”
The letter was signed by Democrats Shelley Berkley and Gerald Connolly, and Republicans Phil Gingrey and Mario Diaz-Balart.
All four are co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus.
The six assurances, made by Reagan to then-Taiwan president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) in July 1982, are: The US will not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan; the US will not hold prior consultations with China on arms sales to Taiwan; the US will not play any mediation role between Taipei and Beijing; the US will not revise the TRA; the US will not change its position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan; and the US will not exert pressure on Taiwan to negotiate with China.
“Along with the TRA, these six assurances form the basis of the overall policy approach that the US has taken toward Taiwan over 30 years. It is a policy that has successfully maintained peace in the Taiwan Strait, while providing for Taiwan’s economic prosperity and political transformation, both of which are to the enormous benefit of the US,” the letter says.
Coen Blaauw, an official with the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, said: “This was a good opportunity to remind Secretary Panetta about the six assurances. They really are the second cornerstone of US relations with Taiwan and of critical importance.”
EMBRACE CHANGE: Jensen Huang told NTU graduates that instead of worrying about AI itself, they should worry that people with expertise in AI would be taking their jobs Artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining the computer industry, and Taiwanese companies could play a major role in replacing the world’s traditional computers as they are the foundation of the industry, Nvidia Corp cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said in Taipei yesterday. Huang made the remarks while giving the keynote speech at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) commencement ceremony. AI has created immense opportunities, and versatile companies can be expected to take advantage and boost their position, while less flexible firms would perish, he said. “In every way, this is a rebirth of the computer industry and a golden opportunity for the companies of
‘ARCHAIC’: An interpretation of a law that considered Chinese as Taiwanese nationals was scrapped after the death of a Chinese in Kaohsiung led to state reparations An administrative mandate to consider Chinese as Taiwanese citizens was outdated, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, a day after the Executive Yuan ordered that agencies disregard the 30-year-old interpretation. Chen made the remarks at an event held by the Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei following changes to the administrative mandate concerning the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例). The previous interpretation of the law was archaic and contrary to the workings of laws and regulations, he said, adding that the order was made to avoid unnecessary problems created by the mandate. The Mainland
NOT BUYING IT: One of the goals of Beijing’s Cross-Strait Media People Summit was to draw mainstream media executives to discuss the ‘one country, two systems’ formula Taiwanese news media insist on press freedom and professionalism, and would never become a tool of China’s “united front” campaign, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, responding to media queries about the lack of Taiwanese media executives at the Cross-Strait Media People Summit in Beijing. Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) was reportedly furious that no Taiwanese media representatives attended a scheduled meeting with him on Thursday last week. “Beijing should take Taiwan’s determination to pursue freedom and democracy seriously. We also hope that it will not use vicious means to interfere with Taiwan’s development into a
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The legislative amendments aim to protect the rights of families to reunify, and to attract skilled professionals to stay and work in Taiwan Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法). The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay. They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest
RSS