The US policy of selling weapons to Taiwan has always been based on the latter's self-defense needs and has not violated Washington's "one China" policy, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday.
Powell made the remarks in response to questions at a joint press conference after a working lunch with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
Powell lent his support to the US plan to sell Taiwan a multi-billion dollar package of weapons that is currently the subject of debate among Taiwan policy-makers.
"We had a good conversation on Taiwan arms sales," Powell said. "Our obligations under our domestic law with respect to the Taiwan Relations Act, in our judgment, are not in any way inconsistent with our one-China policy, and our obligations under that one-China policy and the three communiques," Powell said.
"I think our policy has served both nations, the United States and China, very, very well and Taiwan very, very well," he said.
In response to Powell's support of arms sales, Li expressed China's firm opposition to the sale of arms by any foreign country to Taiwan, issuing a veiled threat on the issue.
"We are firmly opposed to the sales of weapons by any foreign country to Taiwan, which is part of China, because we don't think it is in the interest of our peaceful efforts toward the resolution of the Taiwan question," Li said.
"It does not serve the interest of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. And eventually it will not serve the interests of those countries which are prepared to sell weapons to Taiwan," Li said.
Li, who was China's ambassador to Washington before becoming foreign minister, said his trip was like "coming back home, because I have so many friends here."
Noting the four meetings with Powell and the 15 phone calls the two have had this year, Li said, "if there is a sport in the world called `the phone calls between foreign ministers,' then perhaps we will get the gold medal."
Powell also said he is considering visiting China.
"I'm still looking at my schedule for the rest of the year. I always look forward to visiting China as a way of cementing the relationship -- and more than just cementing it, but building the relationship."
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS