The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked US Representative Ted Yoho, who on Friday announced plans to submit a bill to the US House of Representatives to authorize the US president to respond with military force if China attacks Taiwan.
The ministry would monitor the bill’s progress and, together with the US, promote regional peace, stability and prosperity, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
During an interview on Fox Business Network’s Red Storm, host Lou Dobbs asked Yoho whether the US government was doing enough to back Taiwan amid China’s constant threats.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
“This [bill] is something that’s going to lay very clear what our intent is,” Yoho said. “In fact, it will go to the point where it authorizes an AUMF [Authorization for Use of Military Force] if China invades Taiwan, and it’ll be a sunset for five years, that AUMF, that would authorize the president to use force.”
Under the US’ Taiwan Relations Act, which took effect in 1979, Washington is committed to sell Taiwan enough weapons to defend itself, he said.
“But when [Chinese President] Xi Jinping [習近平] has announced that he’s ready to draw blood over Taiwan and reunify them, they forgot to ask Taiwan,” Yoho said. “Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China, and nor do they want to.”
The bill would be titled the “Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act,” and he planned to introduce it this week, he said.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
‘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
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
RSS