National security authorities are keeping a close watch on US President Donald Trump’s Asia trip, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Trump arrived in Japan yesterday on the first stop of a five-nation visit that includes South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Taipei and Washington have a good understanding regarding regional issues, the Presidential Office said, citing a comment by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the start of her recent three-nation trip to Pacific island allies.
“We will clearly see the US’ commitment to regional peace and stability, including maintaining stable relations with Taiwan” during Trump’s trip to Asia, Tsai said during a stopover in Hawaii on her way to the Marshall Islands.
“Taiwan’s ties with the United States have never been stronger,” she said.
Tsai on Thursday said that her administration would keep a close eye on Trump’s visit to China.
“We remain optimistic and hope that their meeting will help the region’s peaceful and stable development,” she said, referring to Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Trump is to focus on North Korea and trade issues during his trip, and national security officials are to follow developments on these matters, the Presidential Office said, adding that US officials would brief Taiwan on the trip in accordance with past practice.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said the ministry is also monitoring the trip and has organized a team with help from Taiwan’s representative office in Washington to maintain contact with US officials as the trip progresses.
The ministry has asked the US not to sacrifice Taiwan to improve ties with China during Trump’s meeting with Xi, Lee added.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
RSS