Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) yesterday urged democratic nations around the world to not let Beijing dictate the definition of their “one China” policies, saying that they should increase cooperation with Taiwan to build a resilient democratic network.
Lee made the remarks during his speech, titled “Ukraine and Taiwan: Why Global Unity Matters,” at the annual Bratislava Forum in Slovakia.
“People in Taiwan have been paying close attention to the situation in Ukraine and admire Ukrainians for defending their homeland. They are [also] fighting for Taiwan and democratic countries around the world,” Lee told forum participants.
2023 Bratislava Forum on Tuesday. Photo: CNA
“The international community is increasingly aware that Taiwan is facing tremendous geopolitical risks. As such, world leaders attending the G7 summit in Hiroshima delivered a joint statement opposing any unilateral move to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
“The more united the members of the democratic camp are, the more it would help deter China from advancing with force,” he added.
Many people think that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the result of indifference and appeasement that the international community has shown over the years, Lee said.
“The world should learn this lesson: The only way to deter the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] regime from invading Taiwan is for the international community to be united and show resolve,” he said.
“Taiwan completely understands that it is our mission to defend our democratic way of life, and we are demonstrating our will, capability and resolve by actively preparing for a war,” he added.
China cannot affect the political and economic situation in Taiwan, despite blocking Taiwan from participating in UN organizations, intensifying cognitive warfare against the nation and interfering in its elections, Lee said.
“Like-minded democratic countries must not let Beijing decide what their ‘one China’ policy should be. We urge you to increase cooperation with Taiwan to build a strong and global network of democratic resilience,” he said.
Separately, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that Beijing needs to state clearly that it would allow Chinese tourists — individual and group tour travelers — to visit Taiwan before the government would consider lifting a travel ban on group tours to China.
China made formal announcements when it banned individuals from traveling to Taiwan in 2019 and when it banned groups tours in 2020, Wang said.
“If they think such restrictions do not exist, they should say it out loud. We were hoping that the matter could be negotiated through semi-official associations representing Taiwan and China, but China has yet to appoint a director for its association,” Wang said.
“However, we would know that it is definitely lifting the travel ban to Taiwan if the policy change was clearly announced by Beijing’s spokespeople,” he said.
“Only the person who fastens the bell on the tiger’s neck can untie it. It would be strange if we welcomed Chinese tourists, but China refused to allow tourists to visit Taiwan,” Wang said.
If Taiwan lifts the ban on group tours to China unilaterally, there would be an imbalance of tourism benefits between Taiwan and China, which is unfair to Taiwanese tourism operators, Wang said, adding that the matter should proceed in a fair and equal manner.
Regarding China’s plan to use its self-developed Comac C919 to transport passengers in cross-strait flights, Wang said that the Civil Aeronautics Administration would ensure that the narrow-body airliner is airworthy.
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS