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.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS