The US on Tuesday reiterated its support for Taiwan after summoning its top diplomats to three nations in Central America and the Caribbean to discuss those nations’ decision to cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The US Department of State summoned Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Robin Bernstein, Ambassador to El Salvador Jean Manes and Charge d’Affaires to Panama Roxanne Cabral for “consultations related to recent decisions to no longer recognize Taiwan,” it said in a statement on Friday last week.
US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Tuesday reiterated US support for Taiwan, saying that those chiefs of mission would meet with US government officials to talk about ways in which Washington can support strong, independent, democratic institutions and economies throughout Central America and the Caribbean.
Photo: AFP
“We see Taiwan as a democratic success story. It is a reliable partner to the US and a force for good in the world,” Nauert said at a regular news conference.
The US will continue to support Taiwan as it seeks to expand its already significant contributions to addressing global challenges and as Taiwan resists efforts to constrain its appropriate participation on the world stage, she added.
Asked whether she was concerned about China trying to influence nations that have official ties with Taiwan, Nauert said the US recognizes the importance of global development and the need to improve infrastructure all over the world.
Asked why nations such as El Salvador should be punished or warned for cutting official ties with Taiwan when the US did exactly the same in 1979, she said: “We have a relationship with Taiwan.”
Washington does not see it as particularly advantageous to revise a set of practices that have enabled the US to maintain close unofficial relations with Taipei and develop relations with Beijing, Nauert added.
Basically, “this is the kind of relationship that works for us. It doesn’t necessarily work for every other government,” she said.
US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said she was pleased to see the State Department call back the three ambassadors.
Ros-Lehtinen, a longstanding supporter of Taiwan who plans to retire later this year, also said that she would ensure her successor continues to support Taiwan.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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