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.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
CHAMPIONS: President Lai congratulated the players’ outstanding performance, cheering them for marking a new milestone in the nation’s baseball history Taiwan on Sunday won their first Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS) title in 29 years, as Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School defeated a team from Las Vegas 7-0 in the championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was Taiwan’s first championship in the annual tournament since 1996, ending a nearly three-decade drought. “It has been a very long time ... and we finally made it,” Taiwan manager Lai Min-nan (賴敏男) said after the game. Lai said he last managed a Dong Yuan team in at the South Williamsport in 2015, when they were eliminated after four games. “There is
Democratic nations should refrain from attending China’s upcoming large-scale military parade, which Beijing could use to sow discord among democracies, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung (沈有忠) said. China is scheduled to stage the parade on Wednesday next week to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. The event is expected to mobilize tens of thousands of participants and prominently showcase China’s military hardware. Speaking at a symposium in Taichung on Thursday, Shen said that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) recently met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to New Delhi.
FINANCES: The KMT plan to halt pension cuts could bankrupt the pension fund years earlier, undermining intergenerational fairness, a Ministry of Civil Service report said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ proposal to amend the law to halt pension cuts for civil servants, teachers and military personnel could accelerate the depletion of the Public Service Pension Fund by four to five years, a Ministry of Civil Service report said. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Aug. 14 said that the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) should be amended, adding that changes could begin as soon as after Saturday’s recall and referendum. In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said that the fund already faces a severe imbalance between revenue
RSS