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
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: The project would only be the beginning, as Taiwan needs at least 120 satellites to ensure uninterrupted communication, Wu Tsung-tsong said The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) yesterday said it plans to launch six low Earth orbit satellites starting in 2026 as part of the government’s plan to boost the resilience of the nation’s communications. The development of the technology gained attention after Ukrainians were able to access the Internet through Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, despite their infrastructure being severely damaged in the war with Russia. Two of the satellites would be built by the government, while four would involve cooperation between TASA and private contractors. “Over the past 30 years, the satellite technology in Taiwan has
PLAN: Nations would receive US$5m a year if they could advance Taiwan’s international participation, diversify supply chains away from China or counter Beijing’s influence The US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Friday introduced a bill that would approve US$120 million to be spent on supporting Taiwan’s international space and tackling coercion by China. The bipartisan legislation — the Taiwan Allies Fund Act — was proposed ahead of the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on May 20. The committee said in a statement that the bill “strengthens Taiwan’s global network of friends by authorizing [US]$120 million over three years for the State Department and USAID [US Agency
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to