Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) began his 11-day visit yesterday in Los Angeles, California, expressing appreciation for the US’ arms sales to Taiwan, in an apparent reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) request that Washington cease the sales.
Xi raised the issue during his two-day informal summit with US President Barack Obama, which took place near Palm Springs, California, on Friday and Saturday.
Su told reporters before a dinner banquet that he would like to express his gratitued to the US for the arms it has sold to Taiwan over the past three decades in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
“The US government’s decade-long compliance with the TRA has prevented the people of Taiwan from fear of threat... The most important factor in maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait is taking China’s military threat against Taiwan out of the equation,” Su said.
Su, who is visiting the US and Canada and is scheduled to spend four days in Washington, met with US Representative Edward Royce at the dinner banquet, according to a press released issued by the DPP.
The Republican chair of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying that he pledged the US Congress “would do whatever it can to ensure Taiwan’s democracy, economic development and security.”
Royce was also quoted as saying that he has been advocating for the Taiwan Policy Act on Capitol Hill and personally endorsed several measures that would improve bilateral cooperation, including the visit of high-ranking Taiwanese officials to Washington, a US-Taiwan free-trade agreement and Taiwan’s membership in the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Royce also said he would like to see the name of Taiwan’s representative office in Washington changed from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.
Su is scheduled to visit New York, Houston, Washington, Toronto and Vancouver before returning to Taiwan on June 18. The most important event on his itinerary will be inauguration of the DPP’s representative office in Washington on Friday.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS