The top US envoy to Taiwan yesterday said that President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed US$40 billion special defense budget marks “a major step toward maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait by strengthening deterrence.”
Lai first outlined the budget proposal in the Washington Post, hours before reiterating the plan at a news conference in Taipei.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene on social media said that Taiwan is joining “partners from across Europe to Japan and [South] Korea that are making critical defense investments necessary to deter unprecedented challenges to global peace and prosperity.”
Photo grab from AIT FB
He reiterated Washington’s stance in supporting Taiwan’s “rapid acquisition of critical asymmetric capabilities needed to strengthen deterrence” under the Taiwan Relations Act and “decades of commitment across multiple US administrations.”
Addressing the opposition parties, Greene said: “Just as support for Taiwan is a longstanding US bipartisan priority, I expect Taiwan’s political parties will find similar common ground.”
“Whether your priority is preserving Taiwan’s democracy and market economy, fostering conditions for cross-strait dialogue or maintaining support from the international community, increasing Taiwan’s defense capabilities is a necessary precondition,” he said. “The entire world has a stake in ensuring that differences across the Taiwan Strait are resolved peacefully and free from coercion.”
Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that Lai’s commitment to increasing defense spending is consistent with the policies of other democracies.
Nations that experience increasing economic and social prosperity necessarily invest in bolstering their defense and national security, he said.
DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said that Lai’s editorial was an important signal to Washington, which has been vocal in demanding Taiwan show its resolve to defend itself by increasing military and civil defense spending.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) told a news conference that Lai was “playing with fire” by pledging to increase Taiwan’s defense budget, echoing a phrase Beijing frequently uses to criticize foreign policies it deems to be provocative to China.
Lai’s comments are “an investment in war” that would transform the Taiwan Strait into a powder keg and Taiwan into an arms factory, Cheng said after urging the president to refrain from becoming a “troublemaker.”
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), currently visiting Japan, said in a video message that the TPP supports a “reasonable” increase in defense spending, but would conduct a “practical and rational” review to ensure taxpayers’ money is well spent.
Additional reporting by Lee Wen-hsin
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS