Several US congressmen on Friday said that Beijing should be reprimanded for threatening Taipei with military power following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) reiteration this week of his goal of unification and willingness to use force to annex Taiwan.
“China threatening Taiwan with military force is reprehensible, counterproductive and just bad diplomacy,” US Senator John Kennedy tweeted.
China’s provocative approach toward Taiwan risks the stability of the region and displays its disrespect of democracies, Kennedy said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart on Twitter called China’s attempts to threaten a democratic US ally “shameful,” saying that communist dictatorships often rely on coercion, threats and violence to maintain power.
“The Chinese people in the PRC [People’s Republic of China] have suffered under crushing oppression for far too long, and the threats against the free people of #Taiwan must end,” said Diaz-Balart, who serves as cochair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus.
US Representative Steve King said on Facebook that China’s saber-rattling and threats against Taiwan, a democratic ally and an important trading partner, should be condemned by freedom-loving people around the globe.
Taiwan and China are sovereign nations with a right to self-determination, US Representative Paul Gosar said, adding that force should not be an option.
The congressmen were commenting on Xi’s speech in Beijing on Wednesday marking the 40th anniversary of a policy statement that paved the way for cross-strait interactions.
The Chinese leader said that while peaceful unification is his government’s goal, it “makes no promise to abandon the use of force” against the intervention of foreign forces and pro-independence “separatists.”
Xi also said he planned to explore a Taiwan version of the “one country, two systems” model, which President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in a speech responding to Xi’s remarks later that day said would not be accepted by Taiwanese.
Calling for US support for Taiwan, US Representative Don Bacon on Wednesday tweeted that Taiwan has embraced democracy and human rights for all its citizens.
“America needs to stand by our longstanding commitment to Taiwan and ensure they’re not isolated while China still embraces Communism, and denies freedom of religion, speech, and the press,” Bacon said.
US Representative Vicente Gonzalez also urged the US to stand with Taiwan, which he called a key democratic ally and friend.
Gonzalez and US Representative Andy Biggs expressed the hope that both sides of the Taiwan Strait could return to having peaceful and constructive dialogue and relations.
US Representative Glenn Grothman said China should respect the commitment of the 23 million Taiwanese to freedom and democracy, while US Representative Ted Yoho pledged the US Congress’ “unwavering support” for Taiwan.
“Xi Jinping’s threatening rhetoric on #Taiwan is an escalation of Communist Party campaign to marginalize Taiwan’s democracy,” Yoho said, adding that Taiwan’s legitimacy is a self-evident fact.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the nine US senators and representatives for their staunch, bipartisan support of the nation.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old