The US welcomes investment by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which would improve Taiwan-US strategic relations without affecting Taiwan’s security, a preview of an interview with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Deputy Director Raymond Greene showed yesterday.
The AIT released the preview of Greene’s interview on Facebook.
Political commentators Wang Hao (汪浩) and Akio Yaita, a journalist with Japan’s Sankei Shimbun, conducted the interview on a CTS Taiwan News political show.
In a four-minute clip, Greene said in Mandarin that the US is concerned about Taiwan’s need for help amid a COVID-19 outbreak, while the two countries’ health ministers had exchanged opinions by telephone the previous day.
Wang asked Greene about concerns that if TSMC — dubbed a “sacred mountain protecting Taiwan” — were to move to the US, Washington would not help Taipei in the event of a military invasion by China.
“We sincerely welcome TSMC to invest in the US,” Greene said, referring to the chipmaker’s planned fabs in Arizona.
The Arizona investments would improve Taiwan-US strategic relations and would not affect Taiwan’s security, he said.
However, Taiwan cannot regard TSMC as its sole security backing, as China appears to be willing to sacrifice its economic interests to achieve some political goals, he said.
Asked about Taiwan allowing US pork products with ractopamine residue, Greene said that the matter is about principles and trust.
If Taiwan can demonstrate its ability to fulfill its promises, that would help with bilateral trade negotiations and would be a boon for Taiwan’s negotiations with other countries as well, he said.
The full interview is to be aired on CTS’ channel 12 at 11am today and channel 52 at 9pm.
Thirty-five earthquakes have exceeded 5.5 on the Richter scale so far this year, the most in 14 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Facebook on Thursday. A large earthquake in Hualien County on April 3 released five times as much the energy as the 921 Earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the agency said in its latest earthquake report for this year. Hualien County has had the most national earthquake alerts so far this year at 64, with Yilan County second with 23 and Changhua County third with nine, the agency said. The April 3 earthquake was what caused the increase in
INTIMIDATION: In addition to the likely military drills near Taiwan, China has also been waging a disinformation campaign to sow division between Taiwan and the US Beijing is poised to encircle Taiwan proper in military exercise “Joint Sword-2024C,” starting today or tomorrow, as President William Lai (賴清德) returns from his visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a national security official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said that multiple intelligence sources showed that China is “highly likely” to launch new drills around Taiwan. Although the drills’ scale is unknown, there is little doubt that they are part of the military activities China initiated before Lai’s departure, they said. Beijing at the same time is conducting information warfare by fanning skepticism of the US and
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
DEFENSE: This month’s shipment of 38 modern M1A2T tanks would begin to replace the US-made M60A3 and indigenous CM11 tanks, whose designs date to the 1980s The M1A2T tanks that Taiwan expects to take delivery of later this month are to spark a “qualitative leap” in the operational capabilities of the nation’s armored forces, a retired general told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday. On Tuesday, the army in a statement said it anticipates receiving the first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks from the US, out of 108 tanks ordered, in the coming weeks. The M1 Abrams main battle tank is a generation ahead of the Taiwanese army’s US-made M60A3 and indigenously developed CM11 tanks, which have