Vice President Annette Lu (
"We should not focus only on tough words in the statements made by the Beijing authorities around the time of [our] inauguration," Lu said during an interview with the Central Broadcasting System (CBS).
Despite opposition claims that Beijing is nearing the limit of its patience with the Democratic Progressive Party government, Lu said that the cross-strait relationship has improved and that goodwill from both sides is on show.
"Those remarks, including the statement issued on May 17 by China's state-run institute for journalism, President Chen's inauguration speech and the official reaction from Beijing on May 24 have offered some space for positive developments," Lu said.
"The Beijing authorities have always sounded off at Taiwan whenever we expressed our intention to march toward democracy and expand the country's visibility in the international community. This time they have demonstrated this in a manner more modest than ever before," she said.
"I would say that the leaders on both sides of the Strait have began an `air dialogue' and are creating bases for communication."
Lu also said that representing the president while visiting three of the nation's allies in Central America, as well as stopovers in the US, will show that the relationship with the US is on track.
"After President Chen pledged to carry out Taiwan's first referendum, some tensions were created both locally and overseas. Some people worried that such developments would affect Taiwan's situation and the US-Taiwan friendship. My visit to our allies and the short stopover in the US -- our best friend -- should indicate that we are now finally enjoying the coming of another spring," Lu said.
Lu has advocated a new "cross-strait" relationship between East Asia and the Americas and is hoping this trip will strengthen the bridge between Taiwan and countries on the other side of the Pacific.
"I would like to express my gratitude to the US government for supporting Taiwan joining the Organization of American States (OAS) as an observer," Lu said during her farewell speech at the airport. "I expect to return with concrete results facilitating Taiwan's bid to expand its international space."
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS