The upcoming meeting between the leaders of China and the US in Washington is not expected to render any major surprises over issues relating to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
US President Barack Obama is set to receive Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Jan. 19 for a three-day stay in the US, the first state visit by Hu to the US since Obama took office.
Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director-general of the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs, told a press briefing that after Hu concludes his visit in the US, American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt will arrive in Taipei to brief President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on his trip.
Because “surprise-free” has been the principle guiding interactions between the US and Taiwan since Ma assumed office, Linghu said “I don’t suppose that there will be [any nasty] surprises [from the Obama-Hu meeting].”
Taipei previously said Hu’s visit to the US “would not impair the interests of Taiwan.”
When asked by reporters to elaborate on “the interests of Taiwan,” Linghu cited US arms sales to Taiwan, which Beijing strongly opposes.
“We believe that the US will cope with the issue in its standard way and take into account our concerns [in its talks with China,]” Linghu said. “The US has been consistent in its position on its arms sale policy, which is even mandatory based on the Taiwan Relations Act ... We hope and believe that the US will uphold its security commitments to Taiwan.”
Taiwanese Representative to the US Jason Yuan (袁健生) said on Sunday in Washington that US officials have recently given him their assurance that they would not allow Hu’s visit to jeopardize US relations with any other country.
It has been an established practice that the US briefs Taiwan before and after high-level exchanges between the US and Chinese leaders or major events concerning the interests of Taiwan, Linghu said.
“Following the preliminary briefing [on Hu’s visit], there will be more detailed briefings. After Hu’s visit, Chairman Burghardt will also brief us,” he said.
Linghu said that he believed Hu’s visit would not lead to another Sino-US communique on Taiwan, but added that he was not sure if there would be a joint statement because the US and China are still negotiating the matter.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
RSS