US policy toward Taiwan has been irrevocably changed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s comment on Thursday that “Taiwan has not been a part of China,” a National Taiwan University academic said on Saturday.
The comments that Pompeo made during a telephone interview with the Hugh Hewitt Show radio program aired on Thursday has drawn attention from all sides of the issue, as it has been US practice since the signing of the Shanghai Communique in 1972 to simply “acknowledge” rather than “recognize” that people on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is “one China.”
Pompeo’s comment was made in relation to the forced expulsion of four pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong the day before, as he said that the move exposes Beijing’s “blatant disregard for its international commitments” and shows it cannot be trusted, associate professor of political science Chen Shih-min (陳世民) said.
US policy toward Taiwan has been founded on Beijing’s promises, including its promise to resolve the Taiwan question peacefully, he said.
However, now that Washington has realized that Beijing cannot be trusted when it comes to Taiwan and Hong Kong, it also believes there is no reason to comply with past agreements, he added.
With a single comment, Pompeo has set a new framework for US-Taiwan relations that is closer to the “status quo” desired by pro-Taiwan factions of the Republican Party, Chen said, adding that even after US president-elect Joe Biden takes office, it would be difficult to return to the former “status quo.”
Cross-Strait Policy Association researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said that Pompeo’s remark would limit cross-strait policy options for the Biden administration, as rejecting the statement would conversely affirm Beijing’s stance, revealing the US’ bottom line in negotiations.
Although the US might not be stable during the transition of power, Pompeo’s comment shows that Washington’s approach has “somewhat changed,” former minister of foreign affairs Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said.
The remark is bound to affect bilateral and trilateral relations, although the breadth of the change is yet to be determined, he added.
There is no way that Biden would follow Trump’s policies to the letter, but it is too early for Taiwan to draw any conclusions yet, Chen Chien-jen said, adding that it is more important to first observe China’s reaction.
Former deputy minister of foreign affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) said he does not believe the Biden administration would reiterate Pompeo’s position.
However, the remark would serve to ensure that the US’ “one China” policy is decided by Washington, not Beijing, he added.
Additional reporting by Peng Wan-hsin
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS