The US is a reliable partner of Taiwan and committed to providing resolute support to the nation, visiting US lawmakers said yesterday, adding that China’s recent military drills sent a strong signal for the US to accelerate the delivery of weapons to Taiwan.
US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul is leading a cross-party congressional delegation to Taiwan that arrived on Sunday.
On behalf of US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, the visit is to congratulate President William Lai (賴清德) on taking office and “celebrate a victory for democracy,” US Representative and cochair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus Andy Barr told a news conference yesterday.
Photo: Shu Fu, EPA-EFE
The US is “fully and completely committed to deterrence by supporting Taiwan militarily, diplomatically and economically,” he said, adding that its resolve to maintain the “status quo” and peace in the Taiwan Strait should not be doubted.
“The resoluteness which the United States Congress has behind Taiwan is extremely strong,” McCaul said.
Taiwan’s importance lies in its people, democracy, freedom, prosperity, science and technology, and innovation, he said.
Photo: Ben Blanchard, Reuters
“And it’s because the people of Taiwan are just like the people of the United States,” he added.
McCaul highlighted repeatedly that “deterrence is key,” pledging to “get the weapons you purchase to you as soon as possible.”
Asked about the delays in the delivery of weapons by Washington, McCaul said: “We are moving forward on those weapons systems.”
It is crucial to let Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) understand that “the risk outweighs the reward” when considering taking military action against Taiwan, he said.
McCaul said he hoped the deterrence provided by the US and the support the delegation has shown through its presence in Taiwan would help prevent military conflicts in the region and make Xi realize that “it’s simply not worth it.”
Bejing’s military exercises around Taiwan last week sent “a very strong message” to the US, which the delegation would convey to the US Congress and US President Joe Biden, he said.
As the US is holding its presidential election in November, McCaul assured Taiwan that “regardless of ... which candidate wins the presidential [election], I do not see that support [for Taiwan] wavering whatsoever.”
“We are stronger when we stand together,” he told Lai when the delegation met with the president earlier yesterday.
“America is and always will be a reliable partner and no amount of coercion or intimidation will slow down or stop the routine visits by the [US] Congress to Taiwan,” he said.
Congratulating Lai on winning the election and taking office, McCaul said that he looked forward to working with the new administration.
“I think Taiwan has the right man at the right time in the right place,” he said.
Lai thanked the delegation for showing its firm support for Taiwan through the visit and vowed to continue to deepen cooperation with the US and other like-minded countries to safeguard regional peace, stability and prosperity.
While Taiwan is bolstering its national defense capabilities, Lai said he hoped the US Congress would continue to assist Taiwan in the effort through legislative actions.
“I’m confident that Taiwan-US relations will steadily deepen, leading to ever more fruitful exchanges,” Lai said.
The other members of the visiting delegation are Republicans Young Kim and Joe Wilson, and Democrats Jimmy Panetta and Chrissy Houlahan.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS