US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not invite President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to visit the US during their telephone conversation last week, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
Wu said that Tsai had a telephone conversation with Pelosi during a transit stopover in Hawaii on Thursday, before Tsai flew back to Taiwan following state visits to three of the nation’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific.
During the call, the two had a friendly conversation, as Pelosi has long supported human rights and democracy, Wu said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
However, Pelosi did not raise the issue of possibly extending an invitation to Tsai to speak at a joint session of the US Congress, Wu said, responding to a question raised by New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐), who asked during a legislative session if the issue had been raised.
The suggestion was first made in February by a group of US senators in a joint letter to Pelosi, calling on her to invite Tsai to address a joint session of the US Congress.
The letter, signed by US senators Cory Gardner, Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, said that the gesture would enhance Taiwan-US relations, as both sides mark the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, which forms the basis of the US’ relationship with Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
At the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its gratitude to the US senators, but stressed that there were no plans for Tsai to visit Washington.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard
BOOST TO SPORTS? The Executive Yuan said that the amendment was introduced to attract professionals to Taiwan, and increase the incentives for naturalization The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year. The 183-day requirement does not apply if an eligible applicant has lived legally in the territory of the Republic of China for more than five continuous years. Taiwan’s professional basketball leagues are expected to benefit from the amendments, which would allow them to recruit more players from overseas. Prior to the passage of the amendment, the
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against