Government officials yesterday welcomed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement lifting restrictions governing official US contacts with Taiwan, with many calling it the latest example of bipartisan commitment to deepening Taiwan-US ties.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Pompeo instructed executive agencies to consider “all ‘contact guidelines’ regarding relations with Taiwan ... to be null and void.”
“The United States government took these actions unilaterally, in an attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing. No more,” the statement reads. “The US-Taiwan relationship need not, and should not, be shackled by self-imposed restrictions of our permanent bureaucracy.”
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
In Washington, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US said that the decision reflects the “strength and depth” of the Taiwan-US relationship.
“Decades of discrimination, removed. A huge day in our bilateral relationship. I will cherish every opportunity,” Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) wrote on Twitter.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) also took to Twitter to express gratitude toward Pompeo and the US Department of State for their continued efforts to lift restrictions on bilateral engagement.
He also thanked the US Congress for its “strong bipartisan support” in passing the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019, which instructed the executive branch to review its restrictions on high-level exchanges.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said that the decision reflects the two nations’ robust partnership.
The government is grateful not only for Saturday’s decision, but also for the many Americans who have continually helped to strengthen political, economic, security and other ties between the two nations, Chang said.
“Building on this solid foundation, we will continue striving for bipartisan US support and to deepen the cooperative partnership between Taiwan and the US,” he added.
Opposition parties were cautiously optimistic about the decision, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) saying that the next US administration’s reaction “will be key.”
The KMT views the progress of official relations positively and would work hard to assist the nation in promoting exchanges with the US, as long as they are in line with the Constitution and people’s expectations, it said in a statement.
In addition to symbolic actions, there should also be more specific, substantive and continuous enhancement of bilateral relations, it added.
“Most Taiwanese are pro-US. The KMT is the same,” it said. “Whether Pompeo’s announcement can continue into the [US president-elect Joe] Biden administration will be a key indicator.”
While it would be good to further improve the level of mutual visits, such advancement should continue alongside substantial and reciprocal policy, it added.
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) also tempered expectations, while urging President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to take a more active role in pushing for national interests and international participation.
Although happy about the advancement in US ties, the TPP asked whether the Biden administration would maintain the momentum.
For example, the Tsai administration must keep striving to ensure the gains acquired from permitting the importation of US pork containing ractopamine, it said.
Former representative to the US Chen Chien-jen (程建人) was also circumspect, saying that while the change is certainly good for Taiwan, the level at which the Biden administration would be able to enact these policy changes remains to be seen.
Additional reporting by Sherry Hsiao,
Hsieh Chun-lin and Huang Hsin-po
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)