US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Taiwan a democratic success story and praised its allies’ decision to support the nation in a statement at the two-day 19th Micronesia Presidents’ Summit, which opened in Palau on Wednesday.
In the statement released by the US embassy in Suva — which covers Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu — one day before the summit opened, Pompeo highlighted Taiwan’s “commitment to democracy and open societies,” values he said were shared by the US and the five nations of Micronesia: Palau, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru.
“Taiwan is also a democratic success story, a reliable partner and a force for good in the world,” Pompeo said.
“As [US] Vice President Mike Pence said, America will always believe Taiwan’s embrace of democracy is an example to be internationally supported,” Pompeo said. “We respect and support the decision those of you have made to continue to support Taiwan.”
The summit was attended by the heads of state of the five Micronesian nations, which — apart from the Federated States of Micronesia — all maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Pompeo’s statement came as China is beefing up efforts to gain dominance in the South Pacific and was regarded as a reminder by the US government of the value of maintaining formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, according to a Voice of America report broadcast on Thursday that cited diplomatic sources in Washington.
The report also quoted a political observer as saying that in addition to US National Security Adviser John Bolton, there are a number of Taiwan supporters on the White House National Security Council.
When Pompeo emphasized the US’ respect and support for continued support of Taiwan, he might have been “reminding” those that might be considering breaking ties with Taiwan, the report said.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016, five countries have switched diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS