Visiting former US officials yesterday reaffirmed the US’ rock-solid commitment to Taiwan, saying that the US is to keep working with Taiwan for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Former US national security adviser Stephen Hadley made the remarks during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
Hadley and former US deputy secretary of state James Steinberg arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a post-election visit in a private capacity, the American Institute in Taiwan said.
Photo: CNA
Hadley conveyed congratulations to Tsai and Taiwanese on the smooth completion of the nation’s presidential and legislative elections on Saturday.
Taiwan’s democracy has set a shining example for the world and is a democratic success story based on transparency, rule of law, respect for human rights and freedom, he said.
The US’ commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid, principled and bipartisan, he said, adding that “the US would stand with its friend.”
Photo: Democratic Progressive Party via AP
Hadley said that he looked forward to seeing Taiwan and the US continue to deepen their relations to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait under the new government.
Steinberg said that Tsai’s leadership in the past eight years has been admirable, as it has benefited Taiwanese, significantly advanced the partnership between Taiwan and the US, and contributed to regional peace and stability.
The US’ Taiwan policy has remained consistent for a long time, supporting the informal but friendly relations between the two sides, he said.
The US maintains that cross-strait issues should be resolved through peaceful means and that any unilateral change to the “status quo” should be avoided, he said, adding that the approach is in the interest of all regional parties.
Tsai thanked the delegation for demonstrating the US’ support for Taiwan’s democracy through their visit, adding that she hoped to see Taiwan-US relations continue to deepen and become an important driving force for regional and global prosperity and development.
The delegation later yesterday met with president-elect William Lai (賴清德) and vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) at Democratic Progressive Party headquarters in Taipei.
Lai said that “democracy and freedom are the most valuable assets of the Taiwanese people,” as well as core values shared by Taiwan and the US, and the foundation of the stable relations between the two sides.
Sending congratulatory messages to him and Hsiao right after the elections on Saturday and a delegation of senior US representatives to Taiwan is “hugely meaningful” to the nation, as it shows firm support for Taiwan’s democracy and demonstrates close Taiwan-US ties, Lai said.
He vowed to lead Taiwan on the foundations laid by Tsai, safeguarding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Leading up to the inauguration ceremony in May, the government would continue to provide a solid foundation for the new government to take over seamlessly, he said.
Meanwhile, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi yesterday said that Taiwan is an important friend of Japan and vowed to deepen Japan-Taiwan ties.
“Taiwan is an extremely important partner and dear friend of our country, with whom we share fundamental values and have close economic ties and people-to-people exchanges,” Hayashi told a news conference.
Japan is to maintain its “working relationship on a non-governmental basis” with Taiwan while striving to further deepen cooperation and exchanges between the two sides, he said.
The Japanese government has long maintained that cross-strait disputes should be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means, and calls for regional peace and stability, he added.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS