Washington has assured Taiwan that its interests would not be harmed when US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) meet next week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today.
"The US side has repeatedly told us that it remains steadfast in its support for Taiwan and that its exchanges with China will not harm Taiwan's interests," Lin said during a legislative session.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
He did not disclose which US government units or officials had given the assurance, nor did he offer any further details, when asked by lawmakers if he was worried that Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip in the upcoming meeting between the leaders of the world's two superpowers.
Lin said that the US has the Taiwan Relations Act, under which it makes available defense articles and services to help Taiwan maintain its self-defense capability.
Taiwan's government is closely monitoring the latest developments and has all contingencies in place, ahead of the meeting between Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea next week, Lin said.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters that "rare earths, fentanyl, soybeans and Taiwan" are some of the divisive topics that would be discussed when he meets with Xi.
On Monday, when asked by a reporter whether the US might adjust its position on Taiwan independence to reach a trade deal with China, Trump said: "We're going to be talking about a lot of things. I assume that [Taiwan] will be one of them, but I'm not going to talk about it now."
Meanwhile, a Taiwanese delegation, headed by Presidential Adviser Lin Hsin-i (林信義), is to attend the APEC summit, where they are to highlight Taiwan's expertise and experience in artificial intelligence, one of the themes of the summit, the foreign minister said.
The delegation would also make a presentation related to Taiwan's low birthrate, he said.
In addition, the government is arranging many bilateral and multilateral meetings with representatives of APEC member states on various issues of mutual interest, the minister said.
On the sidelines of the APEC meeting, the Taiwan delegation would have "natural exchanges" with US representatives, including those in charge of bilateral tariff negotiations, he added.
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