US Senator Ted Cruz on Wednesday said he has a signed a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging her to invite President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to visit Washington and give an address to the US Congress.
During a question-and-answer session after he gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington on the Senate’s role in US foreign policy, Cruz was asked by a Central News Agency reporter how he would like to see the US’ Taiwan Travel Act enforced, and if he supported a visit by Tsai this year.
Cruz was a cosponsor of the act, which encourages visits by high-level US and Taiwanese officials.
Photo: Bloomberg
“Yes, I support President Tsai coming and delivering a speech to Congress. I just recently signed a letter, urging the Speaker of the House to invite her,” he said.
A meeting with Tsai in Houston, Texas, last year during her stopover on a trip to Central America was “positive and beneficial,” he said.
Before the meeting, the Chinese government had sent him a letter asking him not to meet with Tsai, he said.
“Anyone who knows me would know that such a correspondence is unlikely to be successful,” he said.
“But I had great fun responding to that letter, explaining to the government of China that I would meet with whoever I damn well please. They have no authority to dictate who I meet with any more than I have authority to dictate who they meet with,” he said.
Taiwan is “an extraordinary story of standing up against Chinese oppression and creating an economic jewel and powerhouse,” he said.
Anyone wanting an illustration of whether freedom or totalitarianism works can compare Taiwan and China side by side, he added.
Serving on the US Senate Armed Services Committee, he has worked to be a leading defender of Taiwan by introducing legislation — some of which has been passed — to strengthen the US’ relationship with Taiwan, he said.
China is one of the US’ rivals and “has constantly pressed Taiwan into submission, and tried to stifle Taiwan and maintain the fiction of the “one China” policy,” he said.
In his speech, Cruz said US allies can be divided into four categories: friends, enemies, rivals and problematic allies, adding that Israel, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are friends.
Iran is an enemy, and the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran is the greatest national security threat facing the US and the world, and North Korea falls into this category as well, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has threatened to launch nuclear weapons at the US, he said.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia are problematic allies, and the killing of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a “horrific, state-sponsored murder,” he said.
China is the US’ top geopolitical rival, followed by Russia, he said, adding that he was glad that liberals have recently discovered the true nature of these states.
“Dealing with China is fraught with risks, from espionage to full-borne military threats. For too long we failed to acknowledge the risks from China,” he said.
Cruz said that he has introduced and helped pass legislation barring the US Department of State from funding Beijing’s Confucius Institutes, as well as discontinuing China’s participation in the Rim of the Pacific military exercises.
“We need to make sure that we maintain military presence to deter them, and should be prepared to use sanctions and diplomatic pressure if necessary,” he said.
“We need to make sure Taiwan, Japan, Ukraine are protected from these hostile rivals,” he said, adding that he has pushed for more port calls and sharing of military information with Taiwan.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as