Representative to the US David Lee (
However, in his monthly "tea party" press conference with the Taiwanese press corps in Washington, Lee did not say how such a change could occur.
He did say that from Taiwan's point of view, any policy changes should come about through a "consensus-building process between the government and the people."
Lee told the Taipei Times after the press conference that he had not heard from the US government about Chad's decision to recognize Beijing at Taipei's expense, and that he had not contacted US officials about the development.
However, in the past, the US has advised him to beware of China's intent to isolate Taiwan.
"Over the past three years, the US has told me and several of my senior colleagues that we have to be aware of the trends and the policies of the PRC [People's Republic of China] on strangulating Taiwan's international space," Lee said.
"And the US has suggested that we do some thinking about how to cope with this. I think this is a decision that is up to the Taiwan people to decide. It is not something the US can decide for us," he said.
Questioned about Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang's (黃志芳) handling of the Chad switch, Lee came to Huang's defense, and said he did not want to try to "second-guess" the ministry's actions.
Based on his long diplomatic experience and his stint as deputy foreign minister, in which he handled similar cases, Lee said, "I can hardly imagine that if we put anyone else aside from Minister Huang [in the position], we would have different results."
China will continue to do whatever it can to take advantage of Taiwan, Lee said.
"This cutthroat competition will go on as long as the leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait do not change their mindset," Lee said.
"I do not see the possibility that the Beijing leadership will change their mindset on this issue. And with regard to Taipei, since we are a democratic country, if we do decide to change the policies or the mindset, we need a consensus-building process between the government and the people," he said.
Meanwhile, analysts in Taipei said yesterday that China's merciless campaign to reduce Taiwan's diplomatic allies and its gradual increase of missiles targeted at Taiwan were solid proof it was undermining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
In a forum held by Taiwan Thinktank on the country's external relations in the wake of Chad's decision to shift diplomatic recognition to China, Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), a political science professor from Soochow University, said that it was an incremental change in the cross-strait status quo by China.
"What China is doing is to essentialize the `one China' principle -- that is to make Taiwan a non-sovereign country and a part of China," Lo said.
Chad's decision to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing just before Premier Su Tseng-chang (
The timing of the Chad mishap, which came immediately after the Cabinet's economic conference aimed at normalizing cross-strait economic relations, meant that Beijing does not expect Su would be able to improve ties, and doesn't want to give any credit to the Democratic Progressive Party government before the next presidential election in 2008, Lo said.
Lin Cheng-yi (
Taipei had only 22 allies when the Republic of China withdrew from the UN in 1971.
Lin urged the government to thoroughly investigate the reasons for the loss of each ally and take responsibility for any policy errors it might have made as well as avoid similar mistakes.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe