This week’s meetings between Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and the top echelons of the US government risk undermining the interests of Taiwan as its government has become indifferent to notions of sovereignty and security, experts told a press conference yesterday.
Hu, who departed Beijing for Washington yesterday to attend a three-day state visit, is scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama today.
Former envoy to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a press conference held by Taiwan Brain Trust that he expected Hu would take the -opportunity to reiterate the US-China joint statement signed in November 2009 during Obama’s visit to Beijing.
“As the joint statement has caused major harm to Taiwan, there is no doubt that the [Obama-Hu meeting] will again undermine the interests of Taiwan,” said Wu, a research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations.
The joint statement, in which the US and China “reaffirmed the fundamental principle of respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “the US encourages both sides of the Taiwan Strait to increase dialogue and interaction in economic, political and other fields,” violated the US Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the six promises Washington made to Taiwan, Wu said.
China mentions the joint statement on every occasion to claim unilaterally that its sovereignty over Taiwan is supported by the US, while President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has made no effort to push the US to reaffirm the TRA and its six promises, Wu said.
Although the Ma administration has repeatedly told the US that Taiwan will not sacrifice its relations with it while developing closer ties with China, that promise sounds like “lip service” to a lot of people, Wu said.
That the Ma administration did not take issue with the joint statement, deferred payment on the purchase of six Patriot anti-missile batteries and accepted the “1992 consensus” as defined by Li Yafei (李亞飛), deputy chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, all “left too much room for our friends in the US to worry about,” Wu said.
York Chen (陳文政), an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University and a former National Security Council official, said it was concerning that the Chinese military buildup did not cause any alarm in the Ma administration, while neighboring countries are already closely monitoring the situation.
“The Chinese J-20 stealth fighter is meant to be used as a first-strike force against Taiwan. Japan is not its target, nor is Guam. However, the Ma administration was unable to get hold of any information beforehand and had no reaction to its test flight,” Chen said.
Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠), a researcher at the think tank, said the government should take seriously remarks recently made by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in Beijing that the US might re-examine its Taiwan policy under certain circumstances.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
RSS