Taiwanese-Americans will join other protest groups for a demonstration outside the White House next week when Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) arrives in Washington. The groups — including Uighurs and Tibetans — will gather in Lafayette Square and are almost certain to be seen by Xi and his entourage.
Xi, expected to be China’s next president and chair of the National People’s Congress, will meet with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday for wide-ranging talks that could lay the foundation for future US-China relations.
The joint protest is to express “deep concern” about Chinese repression against Tibet and East Turkestan and about China’s continuing refusal to renounce the use of force against Taiwan.
Formosan Association for Public Affairs president Mark Kao (高龍榮) has written to Obama, appealing for him to “reaffirm America’s support for freedom, democracy and human rights in Taiwan.”
He says in the letter: “We understand that the US needs to engage China. However, such engagement should not come at the expense of America’s core values. We ask that you remind Mr Xi that it is a core interest of the US that the future of Taiwan be resolved peacefully and with the express consent of the people of Taiwan. We ask that you impress upon Mr Xi that China dismantle its 1,600 missiles targeted at Taiwan and renounce the use of force against Taiwan.”
Kao added that it was essential that China end Taiwan’s international political isolation.
“Taiwan deserves an equal place in the international family of nations, and its people should be fully represented in international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization and others,” he said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
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