Support from US President Donald Trump's administration for Taiwan remains "very strong" and Taiwan is looking at more purchases from the country, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), to help balance trade, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Taiwan for "taking" US semiconductor business, saying he wants the industry to rebase to the US.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He has also threatened broad import tariffs on countries that have unbalanced trade with the US, which could affect Taiwan, given the large trade surplus it runs.
Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Taipei, Wu said the nation has many friends in the new administration, especially in the security and defense sectors.
"The Trump administration support for Taiwan remains very strong," he said. "I think Taiwan is in a good position."
Asked about Trump's comments on chips, Wu said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the dominant maker of advanced semiconductors, started from scratch.
"We didn't steal anything from anybody. Taiwan has been very honest in doing business with the international community," he said.
Taiwan runs a large trade surplus with the US, which surged 83 percent last year, with the nation's exports to the US hitting a record US$111.4 billion, driven by demand for high-tech products such as semiconductors.
Taiwan is discussing what else it can buy from the US, Wu said.
"If the United States has a very good product Taiwan happens to need, then it will be [among] the items that we will be thinking about," he added.
LNG is one area the government is already considering, especially from Alaska, although most of Taiwan's supplies at present come from Qatar and Australia.
Wu said US LNG was very high quality, but coming from existing suppliers Texas and Louisiana, it took longer to reach Taiwan given it had to go via the Panama Canal.
"If Alaska starts producing LNG in big numbers, that will be a very good time for us to buy more and we are in discussion with Alaska now," he said, without giving details.
‘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
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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
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