The US yesterday reiterated that any stopovers by President William Lai (賴清德) would be “in line with past practice, and fully consistent with our long-standing policy.”
Local media this week reported that Lai plans to make stopovers in New York and Dallas, Texas, during state visits next month to Taiwan’s allies in Central and South America — Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize.
Asked during a routine news conference yesterday if the US is worried about how China would react, US Department of State spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the meeting last week between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) did not involve any warnings being issued.
Photo: CNA
The talks were "positive and constructive," Bruce said.
She reiterated that stopovers by high-level Taiwanese officials are “undertaken with consideration for the safety, comfort, convenience and dignity of the passenger.”
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to what it called "sneaky visits" to the US by Taiwanese leaders under any pretext.
Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian (林劍) told reporters in Beijing that the US must understand how sensitive the Taiwan issue is and act with the utmost caution.
China strongly objects to any interactions between Taiwan and the US and routinely denounces US stopovers of Taiwanese presidents.
The Presidential Office has declined to comment, except to say that it would make a public announcement if the visits are confirmed.
Lai has yet to visit the US since US President Donald Trump took office for the second time this year, although late last year Lai transited Hawaii and the US territory of Guam while visiting Taiwan’s allies in the Pacific.
At that time, a senior Taiwan security official said China had nearly 90 navy and coast guard ships near Taiwan, the southern Japanese islands and the East and South China seas, of which around two-thirds were naval.
Beijing had also set up seven "temporary reserved areas" of airspace to the east of its eastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, the Ministry of National Defense said.
A routine transit by Lai should not be used as a pretext for military pressure, a US State Department spokesperson said.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
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