US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday.
The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said.
Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.”
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Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the US’ resolve to stand with Taiwan, Rubio said that Washington’s policy on the issue remains the same as it has always been.
“That’s the policy of the United States. That remains the policy of the United States,” Rubio said. “That’s been the policy of President Trump, and that will continue to be his policy. And when he makes policy decisions, he means them.”
Hewitt also asked whether the US would be able to deter Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) from attacking Taiwan.
Washington “can delay and deter by making the price of taking Taiwan higher than what [Xi] believes to be the benefit,” Rubio said.
However, Xi wants the annexation of Taiwan to be a crown jewel of his time in power, he added.
“So it’s a very delicate situation there,” Rubio said. “Our policy remains the same. We do not believe that there should be any violent and/or extortion-based change to the status.”
Separately, the US Department of State said that China’s intimidation campaign against Taiwan is a threat to freedom of speech and a destabilizing factor in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Twenty years after the passage of [Beijing’s] Anti-Secession Law, China’s intimidation campaign has gone global against Taiwan, and its supporters in the United States and around the world,” a department spokesperson told reporters via e-mail in response to questions about Taiwan-based Li Yanhe (李延賀), the editor-in-chief of Gusa Press (八旗文化), who last month was convicted in China of “inciting secession.”
China’s intimidation campaign has been “threatening free speech, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region and eroding norms that have underpinned the cross-strait status quo for decades,” the spokesperson said.
The judicial guidelines issued by China last year, which purportedly are based on its “Anti-Secession” Law and Criminal Law, are “draconian,” the e-mail said. “They direct Chinese courts and law enforcement agencies to prosecute and punish so-called ‘Taiwan independence diehards,’ including, in some cases, by the death penalty.”
In the face of such provocative and irresponsible actions by China, “the United States remains committed to maintaining the capacity to deter aggressive action and resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan,” it said.
The official also expressed concern over South Africa unilaterally changing the name of Taiwan’s representative office in the country.
Earlier this week, the ongoing issue of South Africa’s demand that Taiwan’s representative office be relocated continued, as the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation Web site renamed the Taipei Liaison Office as the “Taipei Commercial Office.”
The US encourages countries to expand their engagement with Taiwan, the spokesperson said.
Taiwan is a reliable, like-minded and democratic partner, whose relationships abroad bring significant benefits to citizens of those countries, they said.
While Taiwan has remained a good partner, the threat China poses to Taiwan has increased, they added.
China has sought to isolate Taiwan from the international community, including by pressuring countries to limit their engagement, the spokesperson said.
When the South Africa office controversy started in October last year, the South African department said the change was consistent with UN Resolution 2758.
The resolution does not limit any sovereign nation’s ability to engage with Taiwan, the spokesperson said.
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