Taiwan-US ties would not change significantly after the US presidential election next month, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday.
The news that US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, on Friday tested positive for COVID-19 has sparked worldwide concern, especially as Donald Trump is running for re-election against former US vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate.
Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) yesterday said that the government is working to advance dialogue with the US in various areas, including preparations for the US-Taiwan Economic and Commercial Dialogue.
The dialogue, which is intended to be an annual event, was announced by the US Department of State on Aug. 31, after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that Taiwan would ease restrictions on US pork and beef imports.
The dialogue might not be held prior to the US election, although Taiwanese and US officials agree that it should happen soon, a source said on condition of anonymity.
Sources within the government said that it has made preparations for bilateral trade agreement talks with the US, which would fall under the jurisdiction of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Fifty US senators on Thursday issued a joint letter urging Lighthizer to start formal bilateral trade agreement negotiations with Taiwan.
US representatives across party lines have shown support for improved relations with Taiwan at a time when the US and China are at odds over trade and technology, and when Taiwan has won global acclaim for containing its COVID-19 outbreak, sources said.
As such, the US is likely to continue competing with China while cooperating with Taiwan, even if Washington undergoes a transfer of power after next month’s election, they said.
A government official said on condition of anonymity that while Biden appeared to be more friendly to China than Donald Trump, the US Congress has continued to demonstrate its robust support for Taiwan, so Taipei need not worry too much about the impact of the US election on Taiwan-US relations.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Burns, Biden’s foreign policy adviser, on Friday warned about China’s mounting pressure against Taiwan.
“With the President’s illness amid a divisive campaign, we should not discount the possibility that China will step up pressure on Taiwan or Russia seek to take advantage in Eastern Europe. Important the U.S. signal to both that we are watching and remain fully capable,” Burns wrote on Twitter.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique