Taiwan should “trust, but verify” reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) denied that Beijing plans to invade Taiwan in 2027, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told reporters yesterday.
“We anticipate and we hope that Chairman Xi Jinping was sincere when he said there was no timetable” for bringing Taiwan under control by force, said Hsiao, who earlier this week resigned as the representative to the US to join the ticket of DPP nominee, Vice President William Lai (賴清德).
Borrowing a phrase from former US president Ronald Reagan — which US President Joe Biden also used after his bilateral meeting with Xi in San Francisco on Wednesday last week — Hsiao said that Taiwan should “trust, but verify.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
A senior US administration official cited Xi as denying reports that China planned to take military action against Taiwan in 2027 or 2035 during last week’s bilateral meeting.
However, Xi also laid out the conditions under which force could be used, the official said, without specifying what those conditions were.
While the future Lai administration would welcome every opportunity to work with Beijing to maintain the “status quo,” Taiwan needs to continue building up its capability so as to deal with cross-strait relations with more confidence, Hsiao said.
Hsiao alluded to a “four-pillar plan” for peace proposed by Lai, with Taiwan boosting its defense capability and economic security, while seeking international partnerships and “principled and pragmatic” cross-strait relations.
The plan was modeled on the policy of outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), with whom Beijing has refused to establish official contact, despite repeated requests during her eight years in office.
However, with Beijing labeling Lai and Hsiao as “separatists,” Hsiao was asked how the DPP ticket aims to resume government-to-government talks if elected in January.
Hsiao reiterated that they “remain open to dialogue” and would be “committed to the status quo.”
“It’s also important that [those in] the international community who agree with our position in continuing peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait make clear to our counterpart across the Taiwan Strait that dialogue is the only way to resolve differences,” Hsiao said.
“War is not an option,” she added.
When it comes to the US, Taiwan has to forge unified and bipartisan support, Hsiao said, adding that expanding broad support among Americans was critical.
“American support to Taiwan cannot be limited to the beltway,” Hsiao said, referring to the Washington political scene. “A rock solid partnership with the United States is critically important right now.”
Speaking of her decision to join Lai’s ticket, Hsiao, who had served four non-consecutive terms as a legislator prior to being posted to Washington in 2020, acknowledged having “tremendous hesitation” about returning to Taiwan and getting involved again in domestic politics.
While such a decision was “not an easy one,” Hsiao said that her alliance with Lai was forged based on their shared commitment to preserve Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.
Additional reporting by Reuters
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
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
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
RSS