Nine members of the US Congress have issued statements or certificates congratulating the Republic of China on its 102nd National Day, with some saying that Taipei and Washington should sign a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) soon, given Taiwan’s importance to the US in the Asia-Pacific region.
Some Congress members also proposed that Taiwan be included in the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and that the two countries conduct more mutual visits by Cabinet members.
Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) expressed his gratitude to the Congress members for their congratulations and their support on important issues related to Taiwan-US ties a time when the Congress and the White House are busy dealing with a domestic budget crisis and debt ceiling issues.
According to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, 25 Congress members have extended National Day congratulations to Taiwan and expressed support for the nation’s participation in the TPP, as well as the signing of a BIA with the US.
Among the 25 were Robert Menendez, the chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and US House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Royce said in his statement that the US-Taiwan relationship is the cornerstone of Washington’s foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region and that he is excited that as a direct result of bipartisan efforts in Congress, Taiwan was finally invited to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization this year.
“The US enjoys a very positive and productive economic relationship with Taiwan... I urge the [US] Administration to quickly finish the ongoing US-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement negotiations and move on to a broader, more comprehensive Bilateral Investment Agreement with Taiwan,” Royce said in the statement.
Some members of Congress added that since Taiwan plays an important role in the world and is a WTO and APEC member, it should be included in the TPP.
Rain is to increase from Wednesday morning as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-Rey approaches, with sea warnings to be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. As of 8am, Kong-Rey was 1,050km east-southeast of the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) heading in a northwesterly direction toward Taiwan, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. Rainfall is to increase from Wednesday morning, especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, he said. A sea warning is possible from tomorrow afternoon, while a land warning may be issued on Wednesday morning, he added. Kong-Rey may intensify into a moderate typhoon as it passes
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Taiwan yesterday issued warnings to four Chinese coast guard vessels that intruded into restricted waters around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). The four China Coast Guard ships were detected approaching restricted waters south of Kinmen at around 2 pm yesterday, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu Branch said in a statement. The CGA said it immediately deployed four patrol boats to closely monitor the situation. When the Chinese ships with the hull numbers "14512," "14609," "14603" and "14602" separately entered the restricted waters off Fuhsing islet (復興嶼), Zhaishan (翟山), Sinhu (新湖) and Liaoluo (料羅) at 3 pm, the Taiwanese patrol
A former member of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6, said in an interview with Business Insider that the elite unit’s role in a Taiwan Strait conflict would be more limited than some might expect. The report follows an earlier one in September by the Financial Times, which said the “clandestine US Navy commando unit” has been training for missions to help Taiwan if it is invaded by China. “You don’t use a scalpel for a job a hammer can do,” the former Navy Seal said to Business Insider on condition of anonymity.
RSS