US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft on Wednesday had lunch with Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York Director James Lee (李光章), a meeting she called “historic” and a further step in the US’ campaign to strengthen relations with Taiwan.
Craft said her lunch with Lee at an outdoor restaurant on Manhattan’s East Side was the first meeting between a top Taiwanese official and a US ambassador to the UN.
“I’m looking to do the right thing by my president, and I feel that he has sought to strengthen and deepen this bilateral relationship with Taiwan, and I want to continue that on behalf of the administration” of US President Donald Trump, Craft said.
Photo: AP
The meeting came weeks ahead of the US presidential election on Nov. 3 and barely a day before US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach arrived in Taiwan.
Warmer US relations with Taiwan are largely a result of strong bipartisan support in the US Congress, but also appear to show how the Trump administration is willing to defy Beijing’s threats and promote an alternative to Chinese Communist Party authoritarianism.
Craft said that Lee, who was secretary-general in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until July and had recently arrived in New York, invited her to lunch and she accepted.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York via CNA
“It was a nice way for the host country to welcome him to New York, and to hear about his family and his experience, and obviously his respect and admiration for the Chinese people,” as well as the “many, many innovations in technology ... that Taiwan has to offer the world,” Craft said.
Craft said that Taiwanese “need to be heard and they’re being marginalized by Beijing.”
“It really is a shame because they should be able to participate in UN affairs just like everyone else,” she said. “If the US doesn’t stand up to China then who’s going to when it comes to Taiwan, and not only Taiwan, but Hong Kong and others?”
Craft said that she and Lee “discussed different ways that we can best help Taiwan become more engaged within the UN.”
She echoed Trump in pointing to an e-mail sent by Taiwan to the WHO in December last year that the organization ignored, warning about person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 in China, which indicated that the infection was highly contagious.
“Obviously, we really are pushing for them to be back into the UN, or have a role in the UN health assembly,” Craft said.
Lee called Craft “a terrific diplomat” and said that he was at the meeting to engage, and being new in town, he appreciates meeting people and making friends.
“Taiwan and the US share the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” Lee said. “We could make great partners.”
Craft said that the next step is “just being supportive ... and just making sure that he knows that the US appreciates all of their contributions.”
“They have so much to offer the world and are most unselfish about sharing best practices,” she said. “They care about the relationship [of] the Chinese people with the Taiwanese. They care — which to me spoke volumes.”
Craft said that the US and Taiwan share the goal of promoting democracy, and that she was looking forward to meeting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) one day.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS