Washington has been in talks with Taipei for the past few weeks in preparation for the unveiling of its China strategy yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Communications between the US and Taiwan were “intense” in the run-up to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s speech on China policy at George Washington University, the ministry said.
The contents of those discussions are being kept private, ministry deputy spokesman Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) said at a news conference.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Blinken outlined US President Joe Biden administration’s policy toward China at the university at 10am yesterday in Washington.
The speech, which had been postponed from early last month after Blinken tested positive for COVID-19, came on the heels of Biden’s trip to Asia this week, which ended on Tuesday, and was reportedly aimed at reinvigorating relationships with US allies to counter China’s influence in the region.
During Biden’s visit to Japan, he said in response to a reporter’s question that the US would intervene militarily if China were to attack Taiwan.
Biden’s off-the-cuff remark was interpreted by some people as a more open commitment of US intervention, or “strategic clarity,” and a deviation from the US’ policy of “strategic ambiguity,” which allows it to remain vague about its response to a potential attack on Taiwan by China.
However, Biden on Tuesday said that the US policy of strategic ambiguity on Taiwan “has not changed at all,” after he met with his colleagues at the leaders’ summit of the Quad nations, including prime ministers Fumio Kishida of Japan, Anthony Albanese of Australia and Narendra Modi of India.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
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