US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Tokyo Saturday that Washington will continue to stick to its obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
She also said that the US will maintain its "one China" policy and oppose any unilateral change to the status quo by either side of the Taiwan Strait.
Rice, who was visiting Japan, made the comments in an address at Sophia University in Tokyo. The full text of her speech was released by the State Department the same day.
Pointing out that the US has reason to welcome the rise of China as a confident, peaceful and prosperous country, Rice said that Washington also wants China as "a global partner, able and willing to match its growing capabilities to its international responsibilities."
However, she admitted that some issues, particularly Taiwan, have complicated relations between China and the US.
"Our `one China' policy is clear and unchanged. We oppose unilateral changes to the status quo, whether by word or deed by either party," Rice said.
Saying that Taipei and Beijing must realize that neither side can solve the problem alone and should continue to expand recent steps toward a more productive relationship, Rice reiterated that "in the interest of peace and stability we stand by our obligations under the TRA."
She also said that the US can assure basic security as well as reach out to achieve other goals in the Pacific community because it knows economic and political openness works.
"The ultimate direction of contemporary trends is clear. Openness is the vanguard of success. Time and again we have seen that economic and political openness cannot long be separated. Even China must eventually embrace some form of open, genuinely representative government if it is to reap the benefits and meet the challenges of a globalizing world," she said.
Meanwhile, taking unilateral measures that can only escalate tension is not helpful to resolving cross-strait problems, Rice said in an interview with a Japanese TV station on Saturday.
She made the remarks while touching on China's "Anti-Secession" Law. The US State Department released the contents of the interview the same day.
Saying that neither side of the Taiwan Strait can resolve the cross-strait problem on its own, Rice noted that "unilateral measures that only increase tension rather than reducing them are simply not helpful."
Talking about China's human rights issue and the EU's intention to lift its arms sales ban on China, Rice said that although the US has decided not to seek a human rights resolution at the UN Commission on Human rights this year, the resolution is "something that comes up every year," adding, however, that "the removal of arms embargo doesn't come up every year and once it's removed, it's removed."
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS