The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign nation, not part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, after Washington said it does not support Taiwanese independence.
“We support a strong unofficial relationship with Taiwan. We do not support Taiwan’s independence. We fully recognize, understand the sensitivities involved here,” US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Tuesday during a videoconference with the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI).
Campbell made the remarks when asked by ASPI International Security and Diplomacy vice president Daniel Russel how much love and support Washington can show to Taiwan under its “one China” policy and the US’ Taiwan Relations Act.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Taiwan has the right to live in peace and should have a role to play in the international community, particularly in areas related to vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, Campbell said.
He said that there is a “dangerous” balance to maintain across the Taiwan Strait and warned China about “catastrophic” results if it dares to do to Taiwan what it has done to Hong Kong.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Washington for supporting Taiwan’s participation in international affairs and having donated it 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccines.
Since taking office, US President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly stressed that Washington’s support for Taiwan is “rock solid,” while it has also engaged other allies to underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
As a responsible and reliable partner, Taiwan sustains close cooperation with the US on many regional and global issues, and the nation is glad to continue making contributions to the international society, Ou said.
Ou also asserted the nation’s sovereignty.
“ROC Taiwan is a sovereign nation, not part of the PRC; that is a fact as well as the ‘status quo,’” she said.
The government has been cautiously handling cross-strait relations based on a steady and practical attitude, while defending its liberal democracy and striving for more opportunities to participate in international affairs, Ou said.
The ministry would continue to work closely with the US and deepen bilateral partnerships based on firm foundations, she said.
In other news, the ministry on Tuesday night welcomed the appointment of Sandra Oudkirk — US senior official for APEC and deputy assistant secretary for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands — as the next director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), making her the first female director of the US’ de facto embassy.
“The @StateDept official brings a wealth of experience to the role, it’s expected the #Taiwan-#US relationship will continue flourishing under her watch,” the ministry wrote on Twitter yesterday.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS