Washington was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) yesterday for a state visit that may be long on pomp and ceremony, but short on achievement and substance.
Top officials are adamant that the US will continue to sell arms to Taipei no matter what proposals Hu makes.
Even though Hu will be honored with a 21-gun salute and a black-tie White House dinner, US President Barack Obama and his closest aides remain unsure and suspicious of Chinese intentions and motivations.
Photo: REUTERS
Within the administration, there is even doubt about just how much internal power Hu really has.
It is being widely reported in US media that Hu may be the weakest leader of the Chinese Communist Party era.
According to the New York Times, Obama’s advisers have concluded that Hu “is often at the mercy of a diffuse ruling party in which generals, ministers and big corporate interests have more clout, and less deference, than they did in the days of Mao [Zedong (毛澤東)] or Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平).”
“Years of waiting for China to play a more constructive role have given way to the realization that American and Chinese national interests may simply be too divergent for the two to create a meaningful partnership,” American Enterprise Institute academic Michael Auslin said.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post forecast: “The Obama administration plans to use the summit to refocus attention on China’s record on human rights and political freedoms after spending much of the past two years seeking to engage the Chinese leadership on a broad array of global issues, including climate change, helping stabilize the global economy and dealing with the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.”
The biggest announcement to come out of the visit could involve new contracts for Beijing to buy tens of billions of US dollars in US goods, including civilian aircraft.
During his last visit in 2006, a Falun Gong protester broke through a security cordon to heckle Hu and an interpreter announced the Chinese national anthem as that of the “Republic of China,” the official name of Taiwan.
The White House is determined that there will be no such snafus this time.
During that first visit, Hu also spoke at some length about Taiwan and there is considerable interest in whether he will do that again.
It has been widely reported that in his answers to written questions from the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post — published this week — Hu did not mention Taiwan.
The Washington Post said on Monday that the consensus among China watchers was that the chances of Obama and Hu finding a resolution to such sensitive issues as the Chinese currency, North Korea or Taiwan were unlikely.
Hu is expected to press the US to ease its ban on technology exports and seek assurances that US markets will remain open to Chinese goods.
Bonnie Glaser, an academic with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has told the Washington Post that the Obama administration would like some “concrete deliverables” to demonstrate that the president’s China policy is effective and producing results.
She said that at the end of the summit, a statement might be issued that “reaffirms both leaders’ commitment to promoting a positive, cooperative and comprehensive bilateral relationship and to working together on a vast agenda of issues.”
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS