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.”
REACHING OUT: President Tsai expressed condolences to the deceased man’s family and wished a speedy recovery to those who were wounded in the shooting The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) on Monday called on the US to label organizations associated with the suspect in the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting as domestic terrorists, following accusations that he was a member of a group backing unification with ties to the Chinese government. David Wenwei Chou (周文偉), 68, was arrested on Sunday and is being held in lieu of US$1 million bail at the Orange County Intake Release Center over a mass shooting at the California church that left one dead and five wounded. Local police suspect the shooting was politically motivated after they found notes in
NO CONSENSUS YET: Local governments and the CECC have agreed to change the ‘3+4’ self-isolation policy, but are still mulling what to replace it with The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) and local governments have agreed to ease restrictions on close contacts of COVID-19 cases, although the details are still being discussed, the center said yesterday. The discussions follow Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Saturday approving a proposal to shorten the “3+4” policy — three days of home isolation followed by four days of self-disease prevention — for close contacts who have received booster doses. “We did not reach a consensus on how to revise the current restrictions, but we all agreed that the administrative burden must be reduced and the intensity of restrictions must be eased,
OPPOSING CHINESE ‘HOSTILITY’: The bill orders the state secretary to create a plan to regain observer status for Taiwan, saying Taipei is a model contributor to world health US President Joe Biden on Friday signed a bill into law to help Taiwan regain observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), demonstrating Washington’s support for Taiwan’s international participation. Friday was the deadline for Biden to sign the bill (S.812), which directs “the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization (WHO), and for other purposes.” The 75th WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is scheduled to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from Sunday next week to May 28. The bill, introduced by US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate
‘DAMOCLES SWORD’: An Italian missionary said the arrest of cardinal Zen is a blow for the church in Hong Kong, China and the world, signaling great danger ahead China yesterday defended the arrest of a 90-year-old Catholic cardinal under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, a move that triggered international outrage and deepened concerns over Beijing’s crackdown on freedoms in the territory. Retired cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, was among a group of veteran democracy advocates arrested on Wednesday for “colluding with foreign forces.” Pop singer Denise Ho (何韻詩), veteran barrister Margaret Ng (吳靄儀) and cultural studies academic Hui Po-keung (許寶強) were also arrested, the latter as he attempted to fly to Europe to take up an academic post. Cyd Ho (何秀蘭), a democracy
RSS