Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech tomorrow as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said yesterday.
Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai's speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims.
A US state department spokesperson said they could not speculate on what China would or would not do.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
"However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive measures undermines peace and stability," the spokesperson said.
China late yesterday accused Lai of escalating tensions with "sinister intentions" in a speech he made over the weekend at an event to mark tomorrow’s Double Ten National Day.
Lai said that it is "impossible" for the People's Republic of China (PRC) to become Taiwan's motherland because the Republic of China has older political roots.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said he was confusing right from wrong.
Lai's “Taiwan independence fallacy is just old wine in a new bottle, and again exposes his obstinate stance on Taiwan independence and his sinister intentions of escalating hostility and confrontation," it said.
The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday said it was an objective fact that since 1949, the PRC has never ruled Taiwan.
"The Taiwan Affairs Office's remarks have made Taiwan's people see clearly that the Chinese communists regard themselves as the sole legitimate government of China and simply do not allow any room for the survival of the Republic of China," it said.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense today also reiterated its objections to US weapons sales to Taiwan, after the administration of US President Joe Biden approved US$567 million in further defense support.
"What needs stressing is that arming Taiwan is encouraging Taiwan independence, and Taiwan independence means war," the ministry said, echoing previous language it has used.
The Ministry of National Defense told Reuters in a statement that China has been using various reasons to "legitimize its targeted military drills."
"We continue to monitor and analyze the training dynamics of the Chinese communists around the Taiwan Strait in order to anticipate the situation," the ministry said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe