Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to raise the issue of Taiwan in his talks with US President Barack Obama next week, the Chinese government said yesterday.
Xi’s visit comes just months before Taiwan’s presidential election in January, in which the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is expected to be thrashed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
China has been stepping up its rhetoric against the DPP as the vote nears.
“The Taiwan issue is the most important, most sensitive issue in Sino-US relations,” Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光), spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular briefing in Beijing after being asked if Taiwan would feature on the Xi-Obama agenda.
“We believe that, when the leaders of China and the United States meet, they will exchange views on important issues of mutual concern,” Ma said, without elaborating.
Beijing was alarmed in June when the DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the party’s presidential candidate, visited Washington to rally support from US officials and politicians.
Tsai has said she favors “maintaining the ‘status quo’” when asked about her China policy.
Ma said mainstream public opinion in Taiwan wanted to continue with developing good relations with China.
“We believe that only by upholding ... opposition to ‘Taiwan independence’ can the path to the peaceful development of cross-strait ties be maintained and broadened,” he said.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS