Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) yesterday urged democratic nations around the world to not let Beijing dictate the definition of their “one China” policies, saying that they should increase cooperation with Taiwan to build a resilient democratic network.
Lee made the remarks during his speech, titled “Ukraine and Taiwan: Why Global Unity Matters,” at the annual Bratislava Forum in Slovakia.
“People in Taiwan have been paying close attention to the situation in Ukraine and admire Ukrainians for defending their homeland. They are [also] fighting for Taiwan and democratic countries around the world,” Lee told forum participants.
2023 Bratislava Forum on Tuesday. Photo: CNA
“The international community is increasingly aware that Taiwan is facing tremendous geopolitical risks. As such, world leaders attending the G7 summit in Hiroshima delivered a joint statement opposing any unilateral move to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
“The more united the members of the democratic camp are, the more it would help deter China from advancing with force,” he added.
Many people think that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the result of indifference and appeasement that the international community has shown over the years, Lee said.
“The world should learn this lesson: The only way to deter the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] regime from invading Taiwan is for the international community to be united and show resolve,” he said.
“Taiwan completely understands that it is our mission to defend our democratic way of life, and we are demonstrating our will, capability and resolve by actively preparing for a war,” he added.
China cannot affect the political and economic situation in Taiwan, despite blocking Taiwan from participating in UN organizations, intensifying cognitive warfare against the nation and interfering in its elections, Lee said.
“Like-minded democratic countries must not let Beijing decide what their ‘one China’ policy should be. We urge you to increase cooperation with Taiwan to build a strong and global network of democratic resilience,” he said.
Separately, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that Beijing needs to state clearly that it would allow Chinese tourists — individual and group tour travelers — to visit Taiwan before the government would consider lifting a travel ban on group tours to China.
China made formal announcements when it banned individuals from traveling to Taiwan in 2019 and when it banned groups tours in 2020, Wang said.
“If they think such restrictions do not exist, they should say it out loud. We were hoping that the matter could be negotiated through semi-official associations representing Taiwan and China, but China has yet to appoint a director for its association,” Wang said.
“However, we would know that it is definitely lifting the travel ban to Taiwan if the policy change was clearly announced by Beijing’s spokespeople,” he said.
“Only the person who fastens the bell on the tiger’s neck can untie it. It would be strange if we welcomed Chinese tourists, but China refused to allow tourists to visit Taiwan,” Wang said.
If Taiwan lifts the ban on group tours to China unilaterally, there would be an imbalance of tourism benefits between Taiwan and China, which is unfair to Taiwanese tourism operators, Wang said, adding that the matter should proceed in a fair and equal manner.
Regarding China’s plan to use its self-developed Comac C919 to transport passengers in cross-strait flights, Wang said that the Civil Aeronautics Administration would ensure that the narrow-body airliner is airworthy.
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
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
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER: In Germany, the sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations. The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy. The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the
RSS