The US Congress would continue to act “tough” on China regardless of whether US Vice President Kamala Harris or former US president Donald Trump wins the US presidential election on Nov. 5, a former top US diplomat to Taiwan said yesterday.
“No matter who wins the presidential elections this fall, the Congress will insist on broad continuity in our Asian policy, that will include continuing arms sales to Taiwan and projecting a tough stance toward any efforts by Beijing to threaten or attack this island,” former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director Stephen M. Young said at a forum in Taipei.
“If Kamala Harris is elected, she will demonstrate strong continuity with the [US President Joe] Biden team,” said Young, who was AIT director from 2006 to 2009.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
As vice president, Harris has so far “pushed back vigorously against Chinese territorial claims, reinforcing American alliances with our many allies and friends in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
“She is working assiduously to deepen her knowledge of the defense needed to maintain our alliances, showing an ability to rapidly familiarize herself with the Biden policies and any necessary additions aimed at crafting a bipartisan approach to defending Taiwan’s territorial integrity,” he said.
While Trump would be “less predictable” than Harris if re-elected, the Republican former president “would still face significant opposition to any substantive shift away from Taipei,” he said.
“The American Congress, across party lines, has long supported moral and material support for Taipei and its democratic system, and this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future,” he added.
Meanwhile, China’s economy is “stalling at a time when many of its regional neighbors are thriving,” which is expected to limit Beijing’s influence “domestically as well as regionally,” Young said.
“The West has also increasingly pushed back against China on the economic front with tariffs and other trade restrictions,” he said. “This process is likely to continue with negative impacts on China’s domestic and international policies.”
Young urged Taiwan to “continue to bolster its defenses, especially in the Taiwan Strait and contiguous waters.”
The US, Japanese, Philippine and South Korean governments can also play a “productive role in this process,” he said, although he added that “it’s going to take time to rectify past differences” among US allies in creating responses to “Chinese aggression.”
Young made the remarks during his keynote address at a Taipei forum titled “The Political, Economic and Social Development Trends in Mainland China under Xi Jinping’s (習近平) Leadership.”
The one-day event was organized by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Institute for National Policy Research, a Taipei-based think tank.
Andrew Scobell, a distinguished fellow with the China program at the government-funded US Institute of Peace, also spoke at the forum, saying that China under Xi’s leadership is different than under previous leaders.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi has “doubled down” on bolstering its internal security mechanisms and apparatus, and elevated its attention to domestic matters, Scobell said.
As the most “ambitious top leader” since Mao Zedong (毛澤東), Xi’s elevated aspirations for “national rejuvenation” also include unprecedented foreign policy ambitions regionally and globally, he said.
The CCP’s goal of transforming China into a “global power of major consequence” seems to be intensifying, he said, adding that this ambition could make Xi’s China more “outwardly adventurous” in the years to come.
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
WARNING: Domestic coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as they self-pollinate, but they are more likely to have consistency issues, an expert said Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed. Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said. Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said. Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said. It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption