Iowa’s deputy governor is planning a trade mission to Taiwan, an announcement that comes less than three months after Missouri Governor Jay Nixon was allegedly forced to cancel a similar visit to Taiwan following threats of economic reprisals from China.
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds announced plans on Monday to make two trade promotion trips to Asia this year. According to the announcement, Branstad will visit South Korea and China in June, while Reynolds will visit Japan and Taiwan in September.
Both have invited Iowa companies, farmers, organizations and the media to accompany them.
A spokesman for Branstad said he did not know if any consideration had been given to possible threats from Beijing.
Iowa, an agricultural powerhouse, is a key state in the US electoral system because it is the first to hold both Democratic and Republican presidential caucuses. The winners of the Iowa caucuses automatically become the presidential frontrunners. As a result, the state is considered to be one of the most politically powerful and holds considerable sway.
The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) signed an agreement with Taiwan in 2009 to sell Taipei between 110 million and 118 million bushels of soybeans last year and this year for between US$1.35 billion and US$1.4 billion.
ISA chief executive Kirk Leeds said at the time that the deal reflected the long-term friendship between Taiwan and Iowa “in freedom, democracy and trade.”
He said the deal showed the continued commitment of the Taiwan soybean crushing and feed industry to purchase and use US soybeans.
“As the fourth-largest export market for US soybeans, Taiwan remains an important market for Iowa. We appreciate the friendships and business relationships that the US has enjoyed with Taiwan since 1949,” Leeds said.
Reynolds said there were massive opportunities in Asia to increase Iowa’s exports, particularly in pork and soybeans.
On Dec. 1, Nixon announced he would bring a trade delegation to Taiwan. Soon afterwards he scrapped the plan when a Chicago-based Chinese diplomat warned the trip could imperil a project by China to turn St Louis airport into a hub for Chinese cargo in the US.
During a visit to Taipei in late January, American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt said Chinese pressure on Nixon was unacceptable and inconsistent with Beijing’s claims it sought to improve ties with Taipei.
Eight US governors have visited Taiwan over the past two years.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts