A former senior US official said Taiwan must be “sober-minded” about China’s intent because China clearly intends to annex Taiwan through growing cross-strait relations.
“China has a strategy in cross-strait exchanges [that] they are very explicit and clear about. They seek unification … under the principle of ‘one country, two systems,’” former US deputy assistant secretary of state Randall Schriver said.
“I think Taiwan’s goals are somewhat different,” he said.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
Speaking on the second day of a conference analyzing the regional implications of China’s rise, Schriver, who now heads the Project 2049 Institute, said Taiwan must proceed with prudence in its cross-strait relationship.
He said two errors Taiwan could make in its exchanges with China were choosing a cautious and reluctant path leading to deepening isolation, or proceeding too quickly and “[cutting] deals that are perhaps somewhat naive of China’s intent.”
His comments at the conferece — titled “A Rising Chinese Hegemony and Challenges to the Region” — come three weeks after Taiwan and China signed the landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China that will lower customs tariffs and trade barriers between the two countries.
Schriver said that strengthening the US-Taiwan relationship and ties with other regional neighbors should be seen as a priority, particularly after the ECFA.
This would create an important hedge for Taiwan if cross-strait exchanges were to rapidly change, he said.
On Taiwan’s democracy, he said it was important that the country continues to strengthen and protect its democracy, as it was a recent development and could potentially “erode and lose ground.”
“It’s very important for Taiwan to continue to keep its democracy strong and further perfect [it] … because I think it relates to Taiwan’s survival,” he said.
During the forum, panelists also conveyed fears that China’s growing global influence could have a serious impact on regional stability and deep ramifications for Taiwan’s security.
Saying that Taiwan, Japan and the US should resist China’s “aggressive diplomatic and military advances,” defense analyst Hideaki Kaneda said China sought to create a “multipolar world with China … as a superpower like the US.”
This could spell a worrying trend for Taiwan, as Beijing could leverage its increasing diplomatic and economic power against Taiwan’s sovereignty including pressuring the US to scale down or stop arms sales to the country, said Taiwan’s former top representative to the US.
“We need more weapons for Taiwan’s military defense — to deter China, but it is becoming more and more difficult to procure arms,” former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said. “I’m concerned this will be the precedent.”
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS