The US would continue its friendly approach toward Taiwan after the presidential election and Taiwan would work to prevent China "making trouble" during the transition, a senior Taiwanese security official said this morning.
Former US president Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the US presidency and neck and neck in the polls with US Vice President Kamala Harris, has made comments on the campaign trail that Taiwan should pay to be protected and also accused the nation of stealing US semiconductor business.
Photo: Reuters
Speaking to reporters at the legislature, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said the election's outcome was still unknown.
"On relations across the Taiwan Strait, we believe that the US will continue its current approach of constraining China and being friendly to Taiwan," he said.
Taiwan would continue communication with the current administration focusing on key issues for cooperation "in the next phase" and work with international partners to exchange information on China's intentions and military movements during the transition, Tsai added.
"This is as to prevent the Chinese communists from taking advantage of the transition of the US government and to prevent them from making trouble during the transition," he said.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Also speaking to media at the legislature, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said the government was paying great attention to the election and making preparations no matter who won.
However, Taiwan-US economic ties are deep and would not be easy to change and the impact on the economy would be small irrespective of who the next president is, he added.
National Development Council Minister Liu Chin-ching (劉鏡清) said that Trump's proposed technology curbs on China would potentially have “more pros than cons” for Taiwan.
Such restrictions are likely to prompt more Taiwanese companies to shift production back from China and redirect export orders to local manufacturers, he said.
When asked by a lawmaker yesterday about Taiwan’s preparations for the US election results, Liu said that while the nation might also face a 10 percent tariff on its goods under Trump, “the impact would be limited, as most suppliers in Taiwan are primarily doing contract manufacturing serving the US clients.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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