The US is seeking dialogue with China and encourages Taiwan’s presidential candidates to do the same, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk said.
“Dialogue is good. Dialogue is useful,” Oudkirk said during the TV program Da Win Dining (大雲時堂) on Friday.
She said she hopes that US officials can engage more with their Chinese counterparts.
Photo: Screen grab from Da Win Dining’s YouTube channel
The US “would certainly not stand in the way of anyone else wanting to do that,” Oudkirk said, adding that hopefully communications can ease cross-strait tensions.
Regarding Taiwan’s presidential election in January next year, Oudkirk said the election outcome would not affect US President Joe Biden’s promise to Taiwan.
The US’ support for Taiwan is bipartisan and comes from the US House of Representatives and the US Senate, she said, adding that it “has not wavered as our administrations change or as leadership changes here in Taiwan.”
The AIT is familiar with the presidential candidates — Vice President William Lai (賴清德), former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) — and their accomplishments, as it has been working closely with the local governments of Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the vice president’s office, she said.
Having met all three candidates, Oudkirk said: “I like them all.”
The candidates all expressed a willingness to communicate with China from different angles, which is “certainly one that we [the US] would support,” she said.
Regarding US-Taiwan relations, Oudkirk said she thinks that the relationship between Taiwan and the US “is the best that it’s ever been,” and praised Taiwan’s successful democratic transition and robust democratic institutions.
The US supports the “status quo,” which is peaceful and stable, not coercive, and has enabled peace and prosperity in Taiwan, China and other countries in the region, she said.
“Being the director is my favorite part” about Taiwan, Oudkirk said, adding that “it is an honor and a pleasure to work with people. And then Taiwan itself is just amazing.”
The priorities of the AIT include ensuring that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself and promoting the already strong trade relations by encouraging Taiwanese investment in the US and vice versa, she said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS