The US may be preparing to post Marines at its representative office in Taipei — a small but symbolically significant change in its delicate political relationship with Taiwan.
A US State Department advertisement that ran in the Taipei Times and the China Post yesterday and today called for contractors to build quarters for Marine security guards at a new US compound in Taipei.
Since the US switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, there have been no Marine security guards at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in keeping with its low political profile.
It is customary for the US to have Marines guarding its embassies and consulates worldwide.
Placing the guards at AIT — the de facto US embassy — would constitute another in a series of gradual steps in upgrading its status.
An AIT spokesman had no immediate comment on the possible dispatch of Marines to Taipei.
Alexander Huang (黃介正), chair of the Graduate Institute of American Studies at Tamkang University, said that sending the Marines would mark an improvement in bilateral relations.
“With the Marine guards in place, the US would be treating its Taipei facility just like its other embassies and consulates despite the lack of diplomatic relations,” he said.
AIT staffers were originally required to sever their relationship with the US State Department and other US government agencies before commencing work at AIT. That requirement has since been dropped.
In 2005 the US began placing military attaches there, although to keep a low profile, they did not wear uniforms.
The new AIT building is a part of a large-scale State Department overseas construction program. The facility, to be built in Neihu District (內湖), will replace an aging downtown compound.
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
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
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s