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.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS