A delegation of Taiwanese lawmakers on Thursday met with US officials in Washington to discuss several issues, including the flow of chips made in Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
The delegation met with officials of the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, accompanied by Ingrid Larson, the managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Washington office.
The bureau voiced concern about possible “origin washing” of Chinese products and Taiwan’s high-end chips reaching third parties restricted by the US through illicit means, Wang said after the meeting.
Photo: CNA
The Taiwanese delegation proposed law enforcement cooperation to tackle that problem, he said, adding that Taiwan’s exclusion from Interpol put it at a disadvantage and made it hard to track users who acquire their chips through indirect means.
Acknowledging the need to prevent Taiwanese chips from reaching China, he said that while it is a business issue for the US, Taiwan is concerned its chips might end up with a “third party aiming missiles at our country.”
He cited as an example a possible breach of US export controls by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), after a chip it made ended up in an artificial intelligence processor produced by Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co, a Reuters report on April 8 said.
TSMC could face a penalty of US$1 billion or more to settle the case, the report said.
The delegation also met with former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier in the day.
“As Beijing’s threats grow louder, our support for Taiwan’s security, economy and democracy is unwavering,” Pelosi wrote on social media after the meeting.
Their visit to Washington coincided with the stepping down of Mike Waltz as US national security adviser.
Waltz was later nominated as the ambassador to the UN by US President Donald Trump.
The delegation’s leader, Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), said that Taiwan-US ties would remain stable despite the changes, adding that the US Congress maintains a unanimous stance on Taiwan.
While the administrations of Trump and former US president Joe Biden might differ in their approaches, their overall position toward Taiwan remains consistent, he said.
Waltz would still be able to deal with issues involving Taiwan if he takes on the role as the UN ambassador, Chiang said.
The delegation of lawmakers also includes Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) and Huang Chien-hao (黃健豪) of the KMT, Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) of the Taiwan People’s Party, and Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) and Ngalim Tiunn (張雅琳) of the DPP.
In addition the the US Department of Commerce, they have visited the intelligence, foreign affairs and armed services committees of the US Congress, the US-Taiwan Business Council, the Heritage Foundation think tank and former AIT chair Laura Rosenberger.
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
‘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
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS