The government must not describe those who scrutinize its foreign relations as “looking down on Taiwan,” as the nation’s diplomatic predicament is “a plain fact and clear to everyone,” Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) said yesterday.
“Taiwanese were shocked by the news that Taiwan was left out” of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), Chiu told a news conference in Taipei after the membership of the framework was announced.
“Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) had told the legislature that in principle, Taiwan was likely to be included,” Chiu said. “President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also spoke of ‘rock solid’ ties with the US.”
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee had also conveyed to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) that Taiwan wished to join the framework, but the request seems to have “been in vain,” he said.
“Taiwan plays a key role in the global semiconductor supply chain, which is consistent with the core focus of the framework, so you can imagine the disappointment at the noninclusion,” he said.
The government would still negotiate with the US about other ways Taiwan could meaningfully participate in the trade framework, and on the possibility that Taiwan and US could work out a bilateral trade agreement, Chiu said.
When Taiwan allowed imports of US pork containing ractopamine six months ago, the government had said it was a necessary step for Taiwan to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), TPP Legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) said.
“Today we are still not in the CPTPP, and now we are also excluded from the IPEF. We have eaten the pigs, we have bought the arms, we have passed the budgets, but has the US helped us solve our difficulties?” she asked. “The government should be clear about the state of Taiwan-US relations.”
Rain is to increase from Wednesday morning as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-Rey approaches, with sea warnings to be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. As of 8am, Kong-Rey was 1,050km east-southeast of the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) heading in a northwesterly direction toward Taiwan, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. Rainfall is to increase from Wednesday morning, especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, he said. A sea warning is possible from tomorrow afternoon, while a land warning may be issued on Wednesday morning, he added. Kong-Rey may intensify into a moderate typhoon as it passes
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Taiwan yesterday issued warnings to four Chinese coast guard vessels that intruded into restricted waters around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). The four China Coast Guard ships were detected approaching restricted waters south of Kinmen at around 2 pm yesterday, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu Branch said in a statement. The CGA said it immediately deployed four patrol boats to closely monitor the situation. When the Chinese ships with the hull numbers "14512," "14609," "14603" and "14602" separately entered the restricted waters off Fuhsing islet (復興嶼), Zhaishan (翟山), Sinhu (新湖) and Liaoluo (料羅) at 3 pm, the Taiwanese patrol
A former member of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6, said in an interview with Business Insider that the elite unit’s role in a Taiwan Strait conflict would be more limited than some might expect. The report follows an earlier one in September by the Financial Times, which said the “clandestine US Navy commando unit” has been training for missions to help Taiwan if it is invaded by China. “You don’t use a scalpel for a job a hammer can do,” the former Navy Seal said to Business Insider on condition of anonymity.