Six US House of Representatives members expressed support for Taiwan’s South China Sea initiatives, including a peace proposal and efforts to make Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) a hub for humanitarian assistance and scientific research.
US Representative Donald Payne on Tuesday said Taiwan was willing to work with other parties to ensure peace and stability in the region, uphold the freedom of navigation and overflight and conserve and develop resources in the region.
He also said that Itu Aba, the largest natural, self-sustainable islet in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) region, qualifies as an island under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“Taiwan has set up a hospital in Taiping Island,” he said.
“Over the past decade, this hospital has offered humanitarian assistance to 21 people in 20 cases, including 12 Philippine and Myanmar nationals, which fully demonstrates Taiwan’s dedication to humanitarianism,” he said.
Payne’s views were backed by other members of the US Congress.
US Representative Scott DesJarlais noted the South China Sea peace initiative proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in May, which reiterates Taiwan’s position of shelving disputes and promoting joint resource development in the contested waters — to which Taiwan lays claim — and Taiwan’s inauguration of a newly constructed lighthouse and renovated wharf on Itu Aba this month.
“This infrastructure project will support free and safe passage of ships through the surrounding waters, further enabling Taiwan to offer humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and emergency rescue support to passing vessels,” DesJarlais said.
US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and Representative Mike Bishop shared similar views and lauded Taiwan’s efforts to promote peace and stability in the South China Sea.
In addition to praising Taiwan’s initiatives in the South China Sea, US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Matt Salmon in a statement on Thursday praised the agreement between Taiwan and the Philippines on fisheries law.
US Armed Services Committee ranking member Madeleine Bordallo said that she appreciated Ma’s work to develop Itu Aba Island as a location for joint scientific research.
“The recent upgrades to facilities on Taiping Island will help to further facilitate the island as a location where the US and Taiwan can better coordinate scientific research on climate change and other ocean issues in the South China Sea,” she said.
Taiwan’s representative office in the US said the remarks shows US Congress support Taiwan as a peacemaker in the South China Sea.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS