Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) urged US President George W. Bush to help China oppose Taiwan's independence but received no public response from Bush when the two men met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 60th anniversary meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel not far from UN headquarters, as a crowd of Taiwanese Americans demonstrated outside in support of Taiwan.
While Hu brought up Taiwan at a photo opportunity the two held at the Waldorf, Bush concentrated on other issues, including North Korea, terrorism, trade, avian flu and human rights.
Hu said during the photo op that Bush had repeatedly stated his commitment to a "one China" policy, the three joint Sino-US communiques, and "opposition to so-called Taiwan independence, which I highly appreciate."
Hu then said, "I hope that the United States will join the Chinese side in safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits [sic] and opposing so-called Taiwan independence."
Bush initially had no response to that, and omitted any reference to Taiwan in his public statement before the meeting, which was also attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, according to the White House.
During the closed-door meeting, however, Bush reiterated Washington's position on Taiwan matters, according to a statement by Mike Green, the special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Asian affairs.
Before the meeting, Hu attended the opening session of the UN General Assembly. He was met by a Taiwanese-American rally demanding Taiwan's admission to the UN.
The rally's participants read statements from five US members of Congress in support of Taiwan's membership. They included Republican Representative Sue Kelly and the Congressional Taiwan Caucus co-chairman, Democratic Representative Sherrod Brown.
Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner said in his written statement that he believed "there is no question that the United States must stand strong and advocate for Taiwan's independence from China and inclusion as a United Nations member state," according to the pro-independence lobbying group, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs.
"The people of Taiwan have demonstrated that they are responsible citizens of the world. They deserve a voice and a seat at the UN," said Democratic Representative Edolphus Towns of New York.
Kelly added: "The Taiwanese people have shown themselves to possess both the resources and a unique creativity to contribute to the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and other affiliate organizations ... We must persist and progress our opposition to China's egregious and unnecessary oversight until Taiwan is finally and fully accepted into the international community."
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
RSS