Visiting US Representative Michael McCaul yesterday reaffirmed the US’ determination to stand with Taiwan and help the nation defend itself.
McCaul, who chairs the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, yesterday led an eight-person delegation of cross-party US lawmakers on a visit to the main chamber of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, the first House foreign affairs committee chair to do so since the Taiwan Relations Act was enacted 44 years ago.
“This is a powerful testimony to the ever-growing Taiwan-US relationship and holds great significance,” Legislative Speaker You Si-kun told a news conference after the visit.
Photo: CNA
Consisting of Republicans and Democrats, the delegation demonstrates Washington’s “strong support for Taiwan,” McCaul said.
He applauded President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “clear vision and bravery” to travel to the US, saying that the trip was viewed positively by Americans.
He said he looked forward to meeting her today after her return.
“When we project strength, we get peace. If we project weakness, we invite aggression and war,” he said, adding that the US wants to do “everything in our power” to stand with Taiwan and to project strength to China by delivering arms sales to Taiwan and holding joint training exercises.
The delegation is visiting the nation to demonstrate that “we are friends of Taiwan” and to support a nation with which the US shares the values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights, he said.
Asked whether the delegation felt pressure from China prior to their trip, McCaul quoted US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy as saying that “we have every right” to meet with Taiwanese, including government officials.
He urged Beijing to refrain from conducting military drills in the Taiwan Strait, as that would “only make us more determined than ever to stand with Taiwan.”
In addition to military deterrence, economic deterrence is also important, as a significant number of nations are reassessing their relationships with authoritarian countries such as China, US Representative French Hill said.
The delegation visited Japan and South Korea before flying to Taiwan, aiming to show a unified stance to China that “we will be here to defend and support” the values that Taiwan and the US jointly hold dear, said US Representative Young Kim, who chairs the House Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific.
Having conversations with vibrant democracies such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea is crucial, US Representative Ami Bera said, calling on the nations to stand together to maintain peace in the region.
“Nobody is seeking conflict,” he said, adding that the “status quo” in the past 50 years has been beneficial to the citizens of the region’s democracies, as well as to Americans and Chinese.
McCaul also urged the US to sign a free-trade agreement with Taiwan and eliminate double taxation to encourage Taiwanese businesses to invest in the US, calling it a topic of great concern during his meetings with representatives of Taiwanese industries.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee was pleased to pass the draft Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act, which calls for action to support Taiwan’s participation in the IMF, Kim said.
Washington continues to support Taiwan’s participation in other international organizations, she added.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS