Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Wednesday participated in a roundtable discussion with the US House of Representatives China Task Force to discuss deterring the Chinese threat toward Taiwan.
Formed in 2020, the China Task Force is a Republican-led group dedicated to developing legislative responses to counter Beijing’s “malign global activity.”
US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy led the roundtable, which was livestreamed on the congressman’s Web site and billed as a meeting with the “Taiwan ambassador.”
Photo: CNA
“Taiwan warrants our support, because it is a vibrant, thriving democracy. Its people want peace, freedom and the right to determine their own future,” he said in his introduction.
“Over the past few years, we’ve all seen the mounting aggression from Beijing,” he said. “We must work to deter the CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party’s] aggression before it’s too late.”
McCarthy called for a set of actions to strengthen US ties with Taiwan, including increasing arms sales, participation in military training and the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, allowing the display of symbols of Taiwanese sovereignty in the US and deepening trade ties.
“Supporting Taiwan is right, and it’s in America’s best interest,” he added.
US Representative Michael McCaul, the task force’s chair, pushed for timely arms sales to Taiwan, cautioning that the US must not repeat its mistake in Ukraine by waiting until after an invasion to act.
Increasing provocations from China make the US-Taiwan partnership more important than ever, US Representative Young Kim said, adding that this is the reason she and McCaul proposed the Arms Exports Delivery Solutions Act, which aims to expedite the provision of defensive equipment to Taiwan.
The bill was added to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which was passed by the House on Thursday last week.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Hsiao said that she was honored to be invited to speak with the task force and thanked its members for their continued concern and support.
Taiwan and the US have for years built a consensus on developing Taiwan’s asymmetrical warfare capabilities, she said, adding that more progress has been made recently.
Asked about reports that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to visit Taiwan next month, Hsiao said she cannot provide any more information at this time.
Many Taiwanese admire the speaker’s long-standing commitment to human rights and friendship with Taiwan, she added.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition