Taiwan would take action to back Australians at a time when they are “under tremendous pressure,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, as tensions between Australia and China heated up.
Taipei and Canberra have been mutually supportive in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in exchanging critical medical materials in the early stages, Tsai said, before chairing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Central Standing Committee meeting in Taipei.
Taiwan and Australia are like-minded nations, sharing the common values of democracy, freedom and human rights, while their economic and trade relations have also become close, she said.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
Canberra has been voicing support for Taiwan’s international participation, and Taiwanese are empathetic and supportive of Australians at a time when they are under tremendous pressure, Tsai said.
The government would deliberate the best means to let Australians feel the friendship of Taiwanese, she said.
Canberra-Beijing ties have soured after a series of trade and diplomatic disputes.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
Beijing on Saturday last week started imposing import tariffs of up to 212 percent on Australian wine, accusing Australia of dumping its wine on the Chinese market.
Canberra said that it was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) on Monday posted on Twitter a doctored photograph showing a grinning Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghan child holding a lamb. The caption read: “Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanded that China remove the photograph and apologize for the “repugnant post,” but was rejected by Beijing.
Over the past few days, many government agencies and Internet users have shown their support for Australia by sharing photographs of Australian wine on social media.
“Australian wine will be featured at a White House holiday reception this week. Pity vino lovers in China who, due to Beijing’s coercive tariffs on Aussie vintners, will miss out. #AussieAussieAussieOiOiOi!” the US National Security Council wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday posted on Twitter a photograph of two bottles of wine, with a caption that read: “We stand in solidarity with #Australia by serving #FreedomWine at @MOFA_Taiwan.”
The Australian Office in Taipei is to mark its 40th anniversary next year, showing that the bilateral friendship is steadfast and enduring, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
Taiwan and Australia stand stronger together, and would continue to deepen their partnership to defend their shared values and maintain regional stability, she said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers joined their counterparts from around the world in calling on their constituents to drink Australian wine this month as part of a campaign to rebuff China’s tariffs.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group of more than 200 lawmakers from 19 nations, on Tuesday released a video urging people to “join us in standing against [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s (習近平) authoritarian bullying” by buying Australian wine.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), chairwoman of the Taiwan-Australia Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association, yesterday posted a video on Facebook featuring a number of lawmakers extolling their support for Australian “freedom wine.”
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that Australia is experiencing the worst of China’s bullying, similar to Taiwan.
As to whether any Taiwanese lawmakers would join the alliance, Lo said that some have applied, but their applications are under review.
Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said that he believes some would join when the time is right.
Ambassador to the Holy See Matthew Lee (李世明) also joined in the campaign on Tuesday by buying a box of Australian wine.
Lee on the embassy’s Facebook page posted a photograph of himself holding the box of wine, along with the message: “Fraternity is not a trend or a fashion ... but the result of concrete acts,” echoing Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s presentation of Pope Francis’ October encyclical Fratelli Tutti.
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