The joint statement to be issued after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting is expected to include strong support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and other international organizations, a senior US Department of State official told Japanese media on Tuesday.
The Asahi Shimbun in a report yesterday quoted the unnamed official as saying that Taiwan’s participation would help other nations fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Not only does Taiwan have the right to participate, but it has a lot of experience that can help all of us in the fight against COVID-19,” the official said. “It would be self-defeating to exclude them.”
Photo: Reuters
The report also quoted the official as saying that China dominated discussions during the second day of meetings on Tuesday.
“The China issue was the most important of the many important issues we had to discuss,” they said.
Ministers in attendance expressed strong concerns about China’s human rights abuses, the official said.
Human rights “are not a domestic issue; it is an issue that should be acted upon in accordance with the international obligations that China has signed,” they said, citing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants.
Attendees also discussed China’s economic coercion and increasing military activity in the South China Sea, the report said.
The G7 foreign ministers’ meeting was held in London from Monday to yesterday ahead of the main summit, which is to be held in Cornwall, England, from June 11 to 13.
It was the first in-person meeting of the G7 to be held since August 2019 in Biarritz, France.
TAIWAN PROTECTION MEASURE: US Army General Charles Flynn would not say where in the Asia-Pacific the missiles would be sent, but only that they would arrive in 2024 The US is to send medium-range missiles including the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk to the Asia-Pacific next year to deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan, US military news Web site Defense One reported. The report cited comments US Army General Charles Flynn made during the annual Halifax International Security Forum on Nov. 19. “We have tested them and we have a battery or two of them today,” Flynn was quoted as saying. “In [20]24. We intend to deploy that system in your region. I’m not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will
UNUSUAL UPTICK: There are more flu-like illnesses in northern China than in the past 3 years, but data from Beijing showed that known pathogens are responsible Responding to an uptick in respiratory illnesses in China, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it has instructed international airport and port quarantine centers to raise their alert levels, and plans to issue an alert to healthcare practitioners. The number of flu-like illnesses reported in northern China has been increasing for five consecutive weeks, and is higher than the same period in the past three years, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said. “According to the WHO’s latest statement, issued yesterday, information provided by Chinese government showed that the illnesses were mainly reported among children, and the illnesses were attributed
LOYALTY: The 10 active and retired soldiers betrayed the nation and its people by leaking and passing on military secrets to China, the High Prosecutors’ Office said Ten former and current military officers were yesterday indicted on charges of spying for China, including two who allegedly filmed themselves pledging loyalty to Beijing. The High Prosecutors’ Office requested life imprisonment for the suspects in light of the severity of the crime. The 10 active-duty and retired officers included members of the 601st Brigade of the Aviation Special Forces comprising attack helicopter squadrons and elite combat units in charge of defending northern Taiwan, including Taipei. The other suspects came from Huadong Defense Command, in charge of defending the eastern coast; Kinmen Defense Command, in charge of defending Kinmen and Matsu; and one
‘OPEN TO DIALOGUE’: Her alliance with Vice President William Lai is based on their commitment to preserve the nation’s freedom and democracy, Hsiao Bi-khim said Taiwan should “trust, but verify” reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) denied that Beijing plans to invade Taiwan in 2027, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told reporters yesterday. “We anticipate and we hope that Chairman Xi Jinping was sincere when he said there was no timetable” for bringing Taiwan under control by force, said Hsiao, who earlier this week resigned as the representative to the US to join the ticket of DPP nominee, Vice President William Lai (賴清德). Borrowing a phrase from former US president Ronald Reagan — which US President Joe Biden also used after
RSS