President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday congratulated US president-elect Joe Biden on winning the US presidential election.
“Now it is my turn to extend congratulations to @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris on being elected President & VP-elect. The values on which we have built our relationship could not be stronger. I look fwd to working together to further our friendship, & contributions to int’l society,” Tsai wrote on Twitter.
Tsai in the morning met with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and other national security officials to discuss the state of US-Taiwan relations, a source said.
They also contacted Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) to hear her perspective on the issue, the source said.
Based on current indicators, the government is confident that US-Taiwan trade ties would remain stable under the new US administration, they added.
Although the incoming US Democratic Party administration has yet to formulate foreign-trade policies, information from congressional representatives across party lines, as well as think tanks, indicate that the US will maintain its trade relationship with Taiwan, the source said.
The US is also likely to continue selling weapons to Taiwan, as suggested by Democratic US representatives’ approval of such sales in the past, the source said, adding that an arms package with items important to Taiwan’s asymmetrical warfare capabilities have recently been approved.
Su said Taiwan-US relations would flourish under the Biden administration.
With years of friendship and partnership between Taiwan and the US, as well as the democratic values shared by the two sides, the Biden administration would definitely value Taiwan more, Su said in response to media queries.
Su sidestepped a question about progress on a trade deal with the US, saying instead that Taiwan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed the country to continue to grow its economy.
The US has also spoken up for Taiwan on numerous occasions, and the two sides would work to further advance their relationship, he added.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also congratulated Biden and US vice president-elect Kamala Harris on their victory.
“The KMT looks forward to a continued reciprocal and cooperative partnership between the US under the leadership of Mr. Biden and the Republic of China (Taiwan),” the KMT said in a statement, “as well as more constructive developments in international participation, trade, democracy, and security cooperation.”
“American people once again show the world how to make democracy work,” the KMT wrote on Twitter.
KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) congratulated Biden and Harris on Twitter, writing: “We look fwd to enhancing the ROC (Taiwan)-US relations with your administration.”
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
AMPHIBIOUS EXERCISES: The defense ministry said that it had detected 24 Chinese PLA Air Force planes entering Taiwan’s air defense zone over the previous 24 hours Chinese movements around Taiwan were “abnormal,” Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday, flagging recent amphibious exercises in addition to drills Taipei has observed in China’s Fujian Province. Taiwan has reported a rise in Chinese military activity over the past week as dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships, have operated around the nation. “Our initial analysis is that they are doing joint drills in September, including land, sea, air and amphibious,” Chiu told reporters at the legislature in Taipei. The “recent enemy situation is quite abnormal,” he said. The comments followed a statement from the
IN MOURNING: Tsai visited the site and spoke with family members of those killed, while all the major presidential candidates said they would temporarily halt campaigning A fire and subsequent explosions at a golf ball factory at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park (屏東科技產業園區) killed at least seven people, including four firefighters, and injured 98, while three were still missing, authorities said yesterday. The blaze at Launch Technologies Co’s (明揚國際) plant on Jingjian Road raged for more than 12 hours after it started at about 5pm on Friday, officials said. The Pingtung County Fire Bureau early yesterday used large excavators to search for missing people, while family members waited at the scene. Pingtung County Fire Bureau Director Hsu Mei-hsueh (許美雪) said the bureau received a call about the fire at 5:31pm
RSS