US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated that the US government’s long-standing security commitment to Taiwan is based on the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday following concerns over Washington’s policy shift toward Ukraine and its possible implications for Taiwan.
The ministry’s North American Affairs Department Director-General Wang Liang-yu (王良玉) made the remark in response to media queries at the ministry’s weekly news conference.
“The US government, from administration to administration, has consistently reiterated its security commitment to Taiwan based on the Taiwan Relation Act and the six assurances,” Wang said.
Photo: Screen grab from a Ministry of Foreign Affairs livestream
The US’ long-standing position toward Taiwan has also been reiterated by Rubio, she added.
Rubio, in an interview on Thursday last week, reaffirmed Washington’s opposition to any forced change to the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait and said that the US remains committed to its long-standing policies on Taiwan.
Since US President Donald Trump took office, his administration has — through the joint statements of a US-Japan meeting and a US-Japan-South Korea foreign ministers’ meeting — emphasized “the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community,” Wang said.
They have also expressed “opposition to any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the status quo,” as well as their “support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations,” she said.
The ministry and government agencies would continue to promote Taiwan-US relations and demonstrate Taiwan’s self-defense determination, as well as strengthen the nation’s self-defense capability to achieve the goal of “peace through strength,” she said.
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
ENROLLMENT STRATEGIES: NTNU focuses on English instruction to attract foreign students, and helps them with employment and internships, its president said The number of foreign students in the nation’s colleges and universities hit a five-year high last year, with National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) topping the list with the most international students, Ministry of Education data showed. Last year, 123,188 international students attended Taiwanese colleges and universities, 3,259 more than the previous academic year, the data showed. NTNU had the most international students, with 7,648 students, followed by the National Taiwan University’s 6,249, it showed. NTNU yesterday said that international students accounted for 12.05 percent of its degree students last year. The percentage of overseas Chinese students at the university has also been the highest