The government yesterday thanked US President Joe Biden for asserting during his virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that the US’ policy Taiwan remains unchanged while highlighting his commitment to supporting the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait.
The two leaders on Monday discussed a range of issues where their interests align or diverge, a statement from the White House said.
“On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States remains committed to the ‘one China’ policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances, and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” it said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
In Taipei, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) reiterated the “four commitments” that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) laid out in her Double Ten National Day address.
The four commitments are that the nation will adhere to a free and democratic constitutional system; that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other; that the nation will resist annexation or encroachment upon its sovereignty; and that the nation’s future must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people.
“Maintaining the status quo is our stance, and we will do our utmost to prevent the status quo from being unilaterally changed,” Chang said in a statement.
Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries to contribute to peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, he added.
“We hope that China, as a member of the region, will shoulder the same responsibility as well,” he said.
Prior to the meeting, US officials had briefed their Taiwanese counterparts about it and promised to provide more details after the meeting as usual, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
Asked about media reports that senior Taiwanese and US officials are to hold “Pol-Mil Talks” and Defense Review Talks (DRTs) in Washington this week, Ou said the ministry could not reveal details of bilateral interactions, but added that Taipei and Washington maintain multilayered and various channels for communication.
The Pol-Mil Talks and DRTs were to take place yesterday and today in the wake of the Biden-Xi meeting, the Chinese-language United Daily News (UDN) reported on Monday.
Both talks are annual conversation platforms between the two nations, but this would be the first time they would be convened at the same time, UDN said.
Taiwan is to be represented by National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), who are to meet US Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Political Military Affairs Jessica Lewis and US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner, it said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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