US policy toward Taiwan “has not changed one bit,” a senior US Department of State official said yesterday, as US President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea.
Regarding Taiwan, the official said that US policy “hasn’t changed one bit” and remains anchored in the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiques, and the six assurances.
The official made the comment to Reuters ahead of the expected meeting at the APEC Leaders’ Summit in South Korea, which begins on Friday.
Photo: CNA
Separately in Washington, former US representative Mike Gallagher at a roundtable on Monday told Taiwanese reporters that the US would not use Taiwan as a bargaining chip in tariff negotiations with China.
Gallagher said he could not sense any inclination or interest in the US to use Taiwan in a “great bargain” with China.
Elected US officials at the highest level must continually explain to the public Taiwan’s importance to the US and that it is in the US’ self-interest to assist with its defense, he said.
The adage “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” does not apply to Taiwan, as taking over Taiwan is only a stepping stone to China’s ambitions to dominate the region, if not the world, he added.
Taiwan has a key role to play in exposing China’s bid to achieve “unification” via methods other than war, Gallagher said, adding that Taiwan has more experience than any free nation in the world in dealing with foreign meddling.
Every Taiwanese official from the president to the digital affairs minister should let the world know of Beijing’s interference into Taiwan’s domestic affairs, he said.
Xi prefers to enjoy the fruits of war without fighting and his most favored strategic option is taking over Taiwan by political and ideological warfare rather than military means, he added.
Gallagher said that the prospect that Xi is aiming to take control of Taiwan without war is the one that most worries him.
Taiwan plays a hugely important role in telling the world about its modern history, and the US has a responsibility to listen and respond to that voice, he said.
The US’ commitment to assisting Taiwan in defending itself is a bipartisan consensus and both parties support Taiwan’s efforts to bolster its defensive capabilities by adopting a porcupine strategy, he added.
In Taipei yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said he was not worried that Trump would “abandon” Taiwan when meeting with Xi.
The fear in Taipei is that the Trump-Xi meeting this week could see some sort of “selling out” of Taiwan’s interests by Trump.
Asked whether he was worried Trump would “abandon” Taiwan at the Xi talks, Lin told reporters: “No, because Taiwan-US relations are very stable.”
“No matter whether on security, trade and business or other areas, there is close cooperation,” he said.
Taking lawmakers’ questions later yesterday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan and the US share common international interests.
“There should not be any missteps in the course of the negotiations. That is our expectation,” Cho said.
Asked by a legislator whether Taiwan would be “sold out” at the Trump-Xi meeting, Cho said: “How could that be? Who would sell out Taiwan?”
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