American Institute in Taiwan Director William Stanton said yesterday US policy toward China was shaped by idealism and that the US will not walk away from Taiwan.
“From a Machiavellian point of view, the easy thing would be to just not sell arms to Taiwan any more, simple, but we go on doing that,” Stanton said at a Taipei Salon lecture hosted by the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation.
In a speech titled “The Paradox of America,” Stanton said it was a myth that US foreign policy is driven only by self-interest.
Stanton said that adherence to idealist principles was one of the things that made US foreign policy so difficult to understand.
“It would be much easier if we did everything from the point of view of self-interest,” he said.
PRIORITIES
Recalling his experiences at the US Embassy in Beijing, Stanton said he was told by a Chinese think tank that the US is “wasting [its] breath” talking about freedom and religion in China and Tibet, defending Taiwan and selling arms to Taiwan.
Stanton said the Chinese think tank told him that none of those issues were a major priority or in US interests, adding that the US should instead talk about trade between the two countries.
“But the point is actually that America does care passionately about those things,” Stanton said.
TRANSFORMATION
In his speech, Stanton praised the achievements of Taiwan, saying that Taiwan’s own efforts and policies had transformed it from a poor country with a military dictatorship to a developed democracy with technological leadership in the world.
“The United States can’t walk away from [Taiwan] and still remain the United States,” he said.
NEGOTIATIONS
After the forum, Stanton was asked whether the US would resume the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) negotiations with Taiwan.
In response, Stanton said only that he hoped the US would renew focus on the talks and move forward, particularly after the recently signed cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
Stanton said the dispute over US beef imports to Taiwan was still an issue in trade relations with Taiwan, but added that the US had not set any precondition for the resumption of the TIFA talks.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS