A proposed expansion to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) compound in Taipei aims to reinforce the US’ “rock-solid commitment to Taiwan,” the AIT said on Wednesday.
“Due to the United States and Taiwan’s strong relationship, AIT plans to increase its staff to further support commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan,” an AIT spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
“The vacant land adjacent to AIT presents an extraordinary opportunity to provide for AIT’s long-term future growth in a single, central, and secure location and reinforces America’s rock-solid commitment to Taiwan,” they said.
Photo: CNA
The AIT, the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, was responding to a media report that some of the local residents living near the AIT’s compound in Neihu District (內湖) were unhappy about the expansion plan, saying the land should be used to benefit the local community.
The AIT spokesperson said the land would be used for additional office and warehouse space, a recreational center for AIT employees and a parking facility.
Qingbai Borough (清白) Warden Chen Tung-yuan (陳東源) told the Chinese-language United Daily News that local residents had thought the land would be used to build a junior high school.
However, the Taipei City Government recently notified his office that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the AIT would hold a public hearing on Wednesday next week to explain the AIT’s proposal, the newspaper reported.
Chen said local residents were worried that the expansion would affect their quality of life and also wondered why they were not informed about the expansion project before.
The residents accused the central government of paying more attention to the needs of the US government than to those of Taiwanese, the report said.
The ministry in a statement said that it has been offering assistance to the AIT on its expansion proposal, but added that it would follow urban planning laws in doing so.
The AIT, a private entity managing US relations with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, was formed in 1979 after Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
It is headquartered in Virginia, but has a main office in Taipei and a branch office in Kaohsiung.
After operating for 40 years at its old offices on Xinyi Road in downtown Taipei, the AIT moved to the US$250 million compound in May 2019.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators