US President Joe Biden on Thursday vowed to support peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the first time he has done so in a state of the union address.
“We’re standing up ... for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Biden said.
Regarding China, Biden said that the US wants “competition ... but not conflict,” adding that “we’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st century against China or anyone else for that matter.”
Photo: AFP
While “standing up against China’s unfair economic practices,” the US has reduced its trade deficit with China to a decade-low and ensured that none of the most advanced US technologies are used in China’s weapons, he said.
In other news, US International Development Finance Corp chief of staff Jane Rhee yesterday said that the agency is ready to advance cooperation with Taiwan.
Rhee led a delegation to Taiwan on Thursday and yesterday to explore cooperative opportunities with the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the private sector.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a roundtable yesterday for the delegation to interact with Taiwanese representatives from industries including infrastructure, electric vehicles, emerging technologies and banking.
The US agency was established in 2019 to “mobilize private-sector capital to help countries around the world meet critical needs,” Rhee said.
Representative to the US Alexander Yui and American Institute in Taiwan Managing Director Ingrid Larson on Feb. 22 signed a memorandum of understanding on international development cooperation, under which the ICDF and International Development Finance Corp would explore development cooperation in third countries.
The US corporation is dedicated to working with partners on projects around the world to spur local economic growth, and with which to improve the livelihoods of people and communities, Rhee said.
“We’re positioned to partner with Taiwan” in the effort, she said.
Rhee underlined the importance of bringing “shared values of transparency, high standards and responsiveness to local needs and conditions” to the projects the corporation invests in, rather than just the private capital and the financing.
Yesterday’s discussion focused on projects in several priority areas such as Latin America, the Pacific islands and the Caribbean, she said.
ICDF Deputy Secretary-General Alex Shyy (史立軍) told reporters that many of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies are developing countries that are priorities for the cooperation between the US agency and the ICDF.
The ICDF is to continue working with the corporation to provide assistance to Taiwan’s allies, particularly in areas such as women’s empowerment, health, development of small and medium-sized enterprises and climate change, he said.
Meanwhile, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China yesterday launched Operation MIST, calling on countries around the world to “Measure the Impact of a Shock in the Taiwan Strait” and prepare for it accordingly.
“Securing stability across the Taiwan Strait is all of our responsibility and instability is a problem for the whole world,” alliance members said in a video on X.
A possible blockade of Taiwan is a “very real risk,” that could cost the world US$10 trillion or more, which is “unthinkable” and “something we can’t allow,” they said.
“More must be done” to protect Taiwanese and their right to self-determination as well as people around the world, they added.
The alliance, comprising more than 250 parliamentarians from more than 30 countries, aims to promote parliamentary cooperation to require China to act in line with international norms, global security and universal human rights through legislation, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by Yang Cheng-yu
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS