The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked US President Joe Biden’s administration after it issued interim guidance on strategic priorities, including reaffirming support for Taiwan.
The 23-page Interim National Security Strategic Guidance report, published by the White House on Wednesday, said that the US would “support Taiwan, a leading democracy and a critical economic and security partner, in line with longstanding American commitments.”
Since his inauguration in January, Biden’s administration has expressed robust support for Taiwan and said that the US’ security commitment to the nation was “rock solid,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
Photo: Screen grab from Joseph Young’s Twitter account
Taiwan and the US share the same ideals and goals in defending freedom and democratic values, she said.
The ministry will continue to work closely with the Biden administration to strengthen the Taiwan-US partnership on the basis of the nations’ longstanding friendship, Ou said.
The document said that the most effective way for the US to outcompete China is to invest in its people, economy and democracy.
“By bolstering and defending our unparalleled network of allies and partners, and by making smart defense investments, we will also deter Chinese aggression and counter threats to our collective security, prosperity and democratic way of life,” the report said.
“When the Chinese government’s behavior directly threatens our interests and values, we will answer Beijing’s challenge,” it said, adding that the US would confront unfair and illegal trade practices, cybertheft and coercive economic practices that hurt American workers.
The guidance also pointed to climate change, global health, arms control and nonproliferation as areas to seek China’s cooperation.
Also on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave his first major address in office.
Blinken promised that the Biden administration would prioritize diplomacy over military action, and build cooperation with the world on global challenges such as climate change and COVID-19.
He vowed to champion the rights of Hong Kong and Uighurs, saying that if not, “China will act with even greater impunity.”
“China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system — all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to,” he said.
“Our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be and adversarial when it must be, and we will engage China from a position of strength,” he added.
In related news, Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was this week invited to the official residence of the US ambassador to Japan to discuss regional issues.
Hsieh is the first Taiwanese representative to Japan to be invited to the US ambassador’s residence since formal ties were severed in 1979.
“I welcomed Frank Hsieh to the Ambassador’s Residence to discuss our shared priorities across a wide range of topics, including our vision for regional stability, economic prosperity, and stronger people-to-people ties,” Joseph Young, charge d’affaires ad interim at the US embassy, wrote on Twitter.
Hsieh and Young were shown together in images posted on Twitter, one of which shows Hsieh’s signed remarks on the latter’s guestbook, dated Tuesday.
Hsieh wrote on Facebook that he and Young exchanged views on issues including the facilitation of peace and prosperity in the region.
“Taiwan hopes to continue the deepening of its friendship and partnership with nations that share its values,” he wrote.
Additional reporting by AFP
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
RSS