The chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee is to visit Taipei this weekend for wide-ranging talks on security and trade.
US Representative Ed Royce is leading a bipartisan congressional delegation and is to meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
During the three-day visit beginning today, the delegation is to hold talks with leaders of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which are expected to center on Taiwan’s possible entry into the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, future arms sales, creating greater international space for Taiwan and on the possible impact of next year’s presidential election on bilateral relations.
Royce has been reluctant to discuss specific details of the talks, but they are almost sure to have influence on US legislation affecting Taiwan that comes before the committee later this year.
“I am pleased to be visiting Taiwan for a third time as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Royce said in Washington before his departure.
He labeled himself as a “longtime friend” of Taiwan and said Taiwan-US relations are important to both sides.
While Taiwan is not part of the 12-nation negotiations to launch TPP, it hopes to join the pact in a second round of talks.
Royce supports Taiwanese membership in the trade pact, but Taipei would require unpopular changes to its trade laws.
US pork is to be discussed, although committee members were told by Minister of Economic Affairs Minister John Deng (鄧振中) — who was in Washington last month — that the ractopamine ban would not be lifted soon.
Arms talks are likely to concentrate on requested US technical aid for domestic submarines.
Royce is thought to favor helping with the submarines, but without support from US President Barack Obama, the legislators have limited power in this area.
However, the committee might have some success this year in helping to broaden Taiwan’s international presence. It is expected to push for Taiwan to be admitted to Interpol.
US Representative Matt Salmon has said that Taiwan’s exclusion from the organization leaves a major gap in regional security.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to