US presidential hopefuls are being urged by a Washington think tank to put Taiwan on their agenda.
“The public deserves at the very least to be aware of the storm clouds gathering over the Taiwan Strait,” the Cato Institute’s Trevor Thrall and Eric Gomez wrote in an analysis. “Asking for a detailed Taiwan policy is a bridge too far, but given the stakes involved, America’s presidential candidates should start thinking — and talking — about how they would approach dealing with China and Taiwan.”
“Taiwan may not be the primary foreign policy issue of the campaign, but generating more debate about how the US should respond to China-Taiwan issues is imperative for US national security in the long run,” Gomez and Thrall said.
They said that political changes in Taiwan and economic turmoil in China are contributing to uncertainty in the Taiwan Strait.
If president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) does not commit to the so-called “1992 consensus,” an antagonistic relationship between Taiwan and China could again prevail, they said.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed understanding reached during cross-strait talks in 1992 that Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted that he had made up the term in 2000, when he was head of the Mainland Affairs Council.
“If Tsai does not accept the consensus, maintaining the status quo in cross-strait relations will likely be very difficult,” the analysts said. “A hostile Taiwan-China relationship would be impossible for the US to ignore. Should tensions escalate to military posturing or exercises, as happened during the 1995 to 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, regional allies such as Japan would pressure the US president to help stabilize the situation, especially given concerns over China’s recent more aggressive activities in the South China Sea.”
The analysis said that while actual military conflict is unlikely, Pentagon planners are concerned that a confrontation in the Taiwan Strait could happen.
The analysis came as the Washington Post’s David Ignatius published a column saying that US President Barack Obama is moving toward what could be a dangerous showdown with Beijing in the South China Sea.
Ignatius quoted former US assistant secretary of state for East Asia Kurt Campbell as saying that the White House is facing “another red-line moment, where it has to figure out how to carry through on past warnings.”
The US-China breach could widen when Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) meet on March 31 at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Ignatius said.
An arbitration panel in The Hague is to rule next month in a case brought by the Philippines accusing China of making an excessive claims in the South China Sea.
Experts say that the panel is likely to rule in favor of the Philippines and Ignatius said China might respond by declaring an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea — “in effect banning flights there without Chinese permission.”
Campbell said the US should work with Southeast Asian nations to challenge China’s claims.
“You don’t want the Chinese to lose face, but you want their leadership to understand that if they continue along this path, they risk spiraling the relationship into a very negative place,” he said.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS