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.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS