US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force.
Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week.
In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.”
Photo: Screen grab from the Fox News Web site
“It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly,” he said.
His comments raised concerns in Taiwan, which the government has sought to dispel, saying that the US’ official policy on Taiwan has not changed.
“Taiwan will not provoke or escalate conflict, but it will also not relinquish its national sovereignty and dignity, or its democratic and free way of life, under pressure,” President William Lai (賴清德) said in a statement, calling China “the root cause of undermining regional peace and stability and attempting to change the status quo.”
Johnson in the Fox News interview praised Lai’s statement, saying: “I thought that was a reasonable thing for the leader there to say.”
“China cannot just go take over land, and we’re going to stand strong and resolute by that. I know the Congress will,” he added.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also sought to reassure observers that Washington’s Taiwan policy remained unchanged.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Greer said Trump had made no commitments to Xi regarding Taiwan and that the president retained authority over whether and when arms sales would proceed.
Meanwhile, US Senator Lindsey Graham said in an interview that aired on Saturday that he and US Senator Dan Sullivan plan to introduce legislation that would impose immediate economic sanctions on China in the event of an attempted invasion of Taiwan.
Speaking on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Graham said the proposed “preventive sanctions bill” would impose sweeping tariffs and economic penalties on Beijing as a deterrent against military action toward Taiwan.
Graham, a close ally of Trump, said he had not yet discussed the bill directly with Trump, but believed there was strong bipartisan support for it in Congress.
He said the US should clearly warn Beijing that any attack on Taiwan would result in severe economic consequences, adding that a similar warning to Russia before its invasion of Ukraine might have deterred Moscow from launching the war.
Graham also addressed Trump’s recent remarks that he was considering whether to approve a major arms sale package for Taiwan.
While saying the final decision rests with Trump, Graham said he would encourage the president to strengthen Taiwan’s defenses as much as possible to deter Chinese aggression.
He added that showing weakness on Taiwan would encourage Beijing to push further, while emphasizing that Washington’s goal remains maintaining the “status quo” and avoiding war or escalation.
Additional reporting by AP
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