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
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS