Twenty-nine members of the US Congress have called on US Secretary of State John Kerry to launch a major new Taiwan policy review.
They released their joint letter to Kerry on Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the previous review.
A senior source within the administration of US President Barack Obama told the Taipei Times that the Congressional letter needed in-depth study and that it was too early to comment on what action might be taken as a result.
However, several former US government officials and diplomats attending a conference on Thursday on the 1994 Taiwan policy review said that a new examination might not benefit Taiwan and they favored the current system of quietly accumulating policy changes in an incremental way.
The Congressional move was headed by House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward Royce, a Republican from California.
“We feel strongly that there is a need today to undertake a new and thorough Taiwan policy review, laying the basis for further expanding relations with Taiwan and thereby enhancing continued peace and stability in the region,” the letter said.
“In 1979 when we shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, Taiwan was ruled by a government claiming to represent China,” it added. “When the US conducted its last Taiwan policy review in 1994, Taiwan was just starting to emerge as a full democracy.”
“Over these past two decades, the people of Taiwan have consolidated their democracy and established a vibrant and pluralistic democracy in their country,” the letter said.
There would be strong Congressional support for opening up the relationship by scrapping many current restrictions, and allowing Taiwan’s leadership to visit Washington to discuss and negotiate trade and diplomatic developments.
“With the geopolitical shifts that have taken place in the Pacific during the past years and with the 2013 US rebalancing commitment to Asia, a second Taiwan policy review is overdue,” Formosan Association for Public Affairs president Mark Kao (高龍榮) said.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS