Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics.
Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said.
The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait.
Photo: CNA
The international community closely observed the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan, waiting to see how Taiwanese would cast their ballots when faced with China’s military threats and propaganda, he added.
Taiwanese voted for the country to work more closely with other democratic countries, he said.
Situated in the first island chain, Taiwan is directly threatened by China, “but we know our responsibility, and we will do our best to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
Taiwan hopes the international community would continue to show concern over the situation in the Strait, as maintaining regional peace and stability can only be achieved by working together with the global community, he added.
While continuing to be a crucial part of the international supply chain, Taiwan hopes to obtain more significant support from the US government and the international community for the nation’s inclusion in regional economic organizations, Lai said.
Instability in China’s economy and government, as well as a more hostile environment across the Strait, have led to many Taiwanese businesses pulling out of China and investing in the US, Japan, the EU and other parts of the Indo-Pacific region, he said.
If Taiwan can work with other countries in a regional framework, it would bolster the nation’s industrial development, he added.
Members of the delegation included German Marshall Fund Indo-Pacific Program managing director Bonnie Glaser, Eurasia Group China practice managing director Rick Waters, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Zack Cooper and Freeman chair in China Studies at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies Jude Blanchette.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique