The US has shown clear bipartisan support for Taiwan’s security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, after US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday rejected a bill that would have provided aid for Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel.
After all-night negotiations, the US Senate on Tuesday approved a US$95 billion emergency national security funding package to assist Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel.
However, before the Senate vote, Johnson on Monday evening issued a statement criticizing the bill, saying that it failed to “address America’s border crisis, the most critical aspect of our national security,” suggesting he would not schedule a vote for the legislation any time soon.
Photo: Yang Yao-ju, Taipei Times
In Taipei yesterday, North American Affairs Department Director-General Wang Liang-yu (王良玉) said when asked whether Johnson’s move would negatively affect Taiwan’s security that long-term, cross-party support for Taiwan in the US Congress is “obvious to all.”
The ministry thanked US lawmakers for advancing the bill and would continue to pay attention to the issue, Wang said.
Taiwan would work closely with the nation’s friends in the US based on the long-term solid friendship between the two sides, she said.
Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged the US House to pass the bill to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
If Russia wins the war, it would make the world more dangerous, as authoritarian leaders would be emboldened to “get what they want” by using military force, Stoltenberg said.
“Today it is Ukraine, tomorrow it can be in Taiwan. So Beijing, China is watching closely what’s going on in Ukraine,” he said.
In other news, the ministry said that Taiwan sets no preconditions for ties with other countries after Peter Kenilorea Jr, leader of the United Party in the Solomon Islands, on Tuesday said that he would seek to re-establish diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The Pacific island nation has general elections scheduled for April.
Kenilorea told a news conference that his party aims to “encourage diplomatic growth” by inviting more embassies to be stationed in Honiara and re-establishing formal ties with Taiwan, the Solomon Star reported on Wednesday.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare announced formal recognition of Beijing soon after the previous elections in 2019.
In Taipei yesterday, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said that Taiwan has always been open to establishing relations with other countries and “does not set any preconditions.”
The ministry is to take seriously every opportunity that can help enhance Taiwan’s international status and expand its international space, Liu said.
A Hualien pomelo farmer refused to sell to China after the country announced it would permit more Taiwanese pomelo imports, prompting widespread support from Taiwanese consumers, who rallied to buy his fruit. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said that China’s General Administration of Customs registered an additional 79 Taiwanese pomelo orchards and packing facilities in Hualien County, allowing more Taiwanese producers to export pomelos to China. “I am a Hualien fruit farmer and I refuse to sell to China,” Liu Tzu-hao (劉子豪) from Ruisui Township (瑞穗) said in an online post. Liu is a well-known farmer in the community and has served
Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) on Wednesday said decommissioned coast guard vessels were given to the Philippines to enhance regional rescue capacity and would not affect Taiwanese fishers’ rights and benefits. Kuan made the remarks after confirmation on Tuesday that a 500-tonne Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol and rescue vessel would be given to the Philippine Coast Guard. The donation ceremony was reportedly done in Manila, but whether the vessel — previously numbered “CG123” and named Kinmen (金門) — has been handed over has yet to be confirmed. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Wednesday criticized the donation for “taking
UPDATE: The submarine would need to undergo combined systems testing and crew training for navy personnel before it is ready for mission, an expert said Taiwan’s first domestically built submarine, the Hai Kun (Narwhal, 海鯤), could be delivered to the navy as early as next month, military expert and Taiwan Association for Security and Development chairman Chi Tung-yun (紀東昀) said yesterday. The submarine was yesterday morning observed departing for its 21st sea trial and its 15th submerged test. The vessel missed the initial delivery deadline of November last year due to “testing delays,” its primary contractor, shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan, said in June. The contractor also cited “political pressure from China” in procuring critical equipment. All testing operations are in the final stages, with the
OCT. 31: The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Eraflu have been distributed to about 4,000 medical facilities nationwide for people in seven groups who develop flu-like symptoms As the domestic influenza epidemic enters its peak season and continues to escalate, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs for seven eligible groups have been extended to Oct. 31, allowing those who develop flu-like symptoms to receive the medication without undergoing a rapid influenza test. The CDC has extended the expanded use of flu antiviral drugs to seven groups: healthcare and influenza-prevention personnel; residents and staff at nursing homes, long-term care facilities and similar institutions; kindergarten and daycare workers and home-based caregivers; students from kindergarten through high school, vocational high school and the
RSS