A meeting between Taiwanese and US representatives to the WTO reflects the closeness of bilateral ties, which have been unaffected by a transfer of power at the White House, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Taiwan’s permanent mission to the WTO said in a news release on Friday that Representative to the WTO Lo Chang-fa (羅昌發) on Feb. 11 met with David Bisbee, charge d’affaires ad interim of the US mission to the WTO in Geneva.
They exchanged opinions about reform at the global trade body, and their expectations from new WTO Secretary-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and US President Joe Biden’s administration, as well as Taiwan’s position on trade negotiations, it said.
Photo: CNA / Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to the WTO
“Pleased to have a nice discussion with the US on many WTO issues and glad to know the US re-emphasizes the importance of multilateralism,” the mission wrote on Twitter.
Asked if their meeting means that the Biden administration would follow former US president Donald Trump’s policy of lifting restrictions on dealing with Taiwan, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday that the ministry could not speak for the US, but it is glad to see the two countries deepen relations and jointly promote trade multilateralism.
The development also reflects that Taiwan-US ties are “rock solid,” which are not affected by the transfer of power in Washington, she said.
Kristen Grauer, consul-general at the US Consulate in Marseille, France, on Wednesday last week met with Shin Chi-chih (辛繼志), director-general of Taiwan’s representative office in Aix-en-Provence, Ou said.
As for Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on Monday calling on the US to “stop conniving at ... separatist forces for Taiwan independence,” Ou said Beijing has no right to comment on Taiwan’s interactions with other countries.
The Chinese government’s use of various methods to suppress Taiwan does not benefit cross-strait relations, but only increases Taiwanese’s ill-feeling toward Beijing, Ou said.
Beijing’s suppression would not alter Taiwan’s determination to advance on the global stage, she said, adding that the nation would continue to work with the US and other like-minded partners to contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the region.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source