Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Tuesday met with US National Security Council (NSC) officials and US lawmakers to discuss issues regarding Taiwan’s security and national defense.
Chu, who is on an 11-day trip to the US, said the meeting with NSC Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger lasted about 45 minutes.
It was held at the American Institute in Taiwan’s Washington headquarters.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Nationalist Party
They exchanged views on Taiwan’s security and national defense, including military service and the reserve force, Chu said.
The meeting showed that Washington places more focus on security issues, energy and technology than it did three years ago, Chu said, referring to his visit to the US in August 2019, shortly after he lost the KMT’s presidential primary for the 2020 election.
Chu visited Capitol Hill after the talks with Rosenberger for separate meetings with US representatives Don Bacon, Ruben Gallego, Lisa McClain, Michelle Steel and Steve Chabot, who chairs the US House of Representatives Taiwan Caucus, the KMT said.
Chu told McClain that the nation would require more arms that can boost its capabilities in the short term, as the nation is reforming its military and placing more focus on its reserve forces to resist potential external threats, the KMT said yesterday in a statement.
RISK OF WAR
Many experts and analysts estimate that there could be a conflict in the Taiwan Strait in the next five to 10 years, Chu said, adding that Taiwan and the US should strengthen joint defense training.
Chu discussed the nation’s semiconductor industry with Gallego, the statement said.
Chipmakers in Taiwan, South Korea and other allied nations should come together and work out a “common standard” to bolster global supply chains, Chu said, adding that he had conveyed the idea to the US government.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to