Taiwan is about to lose another of its main supporters in the US Congress, after Senate minority whip Trent Lott announced he would resign his Senate seat by the end of this year.
The 66-year-old Republican senator made the announcement on Monday in his hometown of Pascagoula, Mississippi. He gave no reason, other than to say: "It is time for us to do something else."
Lott's successor as minority whip could be another long-term supporter of Taiwan, Jon Kyle of Arizona, who now holds the No. 3 leadership position in the Senate after Lott, according to early speculation among some political pundits in Washington.
In announcing his retirement, Lott joined Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo, one of Taiwan's leading champions in the House of Representatives, who recently announced plans to retire when his term expires next year.
Lott has been one of Taiwan's leading supporters, especially during his tenure as Senate majority leader from 1996 to 2001 during the presidency of Bill Clinton, with whose Taiwan policy he disagreed. In January, he was named co-chairman of the Senate Taiwan Caucus.
One of the last remaining members of Congress who voted for the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, Lott was a main supporter of the Taiwan security enhancement act, a failed attempt that was introduced by former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms to substantially enhance military cooperation and joint action between the US and Taiwan.
He was a vocal opponent of Clinton's so-called "three noes," which rejected the idea of Taiwan independence and the idea of two Chinas. He was also a champion of congressional efforts in the late 1990s to make sure that Taiwan was admitted to the WTO at about the same time as China, whose entry was a main foreign policy goal of Clinton.
Last month he cosponsored a Senate bill to allow President Chen Shui-bian (
While the Senate was a willing partner with the House in the 1990s and early 2000s -- when Lott was majority leader -- to push legislation to advance Taiwan's interests, the chamber has become virtually moribund on the issue in the recent years.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS