Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday announced that Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), executive director of the DPP’s Policy Research Committee, will double as the party’s representative to the US, an appointment that has already won praise from the US.
Su told a press conference that since he had assumed the DPP chairmanship, the regional situation surrounding Taiwan had become very dynamic and that consequently, finding the means to strengthen Taiwan’s relations with the US — the nation’s most important ally — had become a key issue for the party.
Su said the party would reopen its representative office in Washington, adding that the first step in that direction was to assign Wu, a former representative to Washington during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration, as DPP representative to the US.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Among other tasks, Wu will be responsible for the establishment of the office in the US capital.
“Wu’s performance in Washington [during the Chen administration] was widely appreciated and because he knows both US policy and the DPP’s policies, he is the best candidate to convey the party’s positions to the US side,” Su said.
Because of his responsibilities at DPP headquarters, Wu will not be stationed in Washington, but will visit there regularly, Su said.
Wu said he would not bring domestic politics with him to the US, but would do his utmost to represent the real voices of Taiwanese to Washington.
Wu said that in the future, the party would not only communicate with the US executive branch, but also the US Congress, think tanks and Taiwanese expatriate communities across the US.
Wu said that while he hoped to arrange for Su to visit the US in the near future, the party’s office in Washington had to be operational before this could happen.
The appointment was welcomed within the party.
The DPP must send someone better than President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) choice of Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office representative and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), said Lai I-chung (賴怡忠), also a former envoy to the US.
Wu is a capable candidate who is familiar with both the US and China, and will have no problems, Lai said.
Former DPP legislator Kuo Cheng-liang (郭正亮) said it was not common for the opposition party of a nation to have a representative office in another country.
Wu’s role will likely focus on key incidents and issues, and he will be seen more as a “special emissary of the DPP chairperson” rather than a party representative, Kuo said.
However, DPP Legislator Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), a former vice representative to Washington, said the party’s representative to the US should be a full-time job, with the representative stationed permanently in the US.
“Because the job is complicated and the representative also has to deal with the relationships with China, Japan and other countries, the representative should be a full-time job,” Lee said.
Additional reporting by Jake Chung, with CNA
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
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
RSS