The Formosa Club — a coalition of Taiwan friendship groups — on Tuesday congratulated Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on his victory in Saturday’s presidential election and voiced concern over apparent Chinese involvement in Nauru severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Nauru switched recognition to China two days after Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, which the Formosa Club said in a statement was based on Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China, a misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758.
The incident “highlights the fact that China has utilized the distorted interpretation of this resolution to isolate Taiwan internationally,” wrote 25 cochairs of the club, which comprises cross-party European and Canadian legislators.
Photo: Reuters
“We express grave concern over China’s manipulation and weaponization of UN resolutions to advance its expansionist agenda,” they wrote.
The timing of Nauru’s decision shows “China’s deliberate suppression and intimidation against Taiwan’s democratic process,” and threatens the regional stability and international order, they said.
The statement condemned Beijing’s use of “methods contrary to the principles of the rule of law and good governance” to expand its influence.
It called for vigilance against any negative effects.
“In solidarity with the people of Taiwan, we commend their courage and unwavering commitment to upholding democracy on the front line,” the statement said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the club for supporting the nation with concrete actions, adding that “democratic Taiwan is not afraid of suppression.”
In other news, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday told CNBC that China’s increasingly aggressive strategy to suppress Taiwan in the past few years is against its own interests.
Blinken reiterated the importance of maintaining cross-strait peace and stability.
Beijing’s attempts to exert economic, military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan have “actually been totally counterproductive to their interests,” Blinken told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street program in Davos, Switzerland, during a trip to attend the World Economic Forum.
Through Saturday’s elections, Taiwan has set a “great example” of a robust democracy “not just for the region, but for the entire world,” he said.
After his congratulatory statement to Lai was met with strong criticism from China, Blinken “made very clear” to a senior Chinese official in Washington that the US has long maintained its “one China” policy and is “standing resolutely for maintaining the status quo,” he said.
“China has to make decisions about what it will do and what it won’t do,” he added.
The US and its allies around the world have been pursuing clear objectives of the situation across the Taiwan Strait — maintaining peace and stability, opposing changes to the “status quo” and calling for the peaceful resolution of any dispute, he said.
“There’s a reason that that matters,” namely that 50 percent of the world’s commerce passes through the Taiwan Strait every day and “the semiconductors made in Taiwan are powering the world in every conceivable way,” he said.
Any disruption to this would have “repercussions for everyone around the world,” he said.
Blinken said that he is “not going to speculate” about whether China would pursue a takeover of Taiwan, adding that the US has been clear with both sides across the strait that “maintaining peace and stability” is its priority.
Although he might not meet with the Chinese delegation in Davos, Blinken said that the US and China have “ongoing, high-level communication” following the positive outcome achieved by the meeting of their presidents in San Francisco in November last year.
The US is to keep up with the efforts to avoid miscalculations and miscommunication, he added.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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