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 by AFP Staff Writers Washington (AFP) June 7, 2021
The United States will soon start discussing a trade deal with Taiwan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, risking Beijing's wrath. "I know we are engaged in conversations with Taiwan, or soon will be, on some kind of framework agreement," Blinken said at a congressional hearing in Washington. "And those conversations should be starting," he stressed. He said that US Trade Representative Katherine Tai would be the one to offer any details on these future negotiations. The possibility of a US trade deal with Taiwan is likely to infuriate Beijing, which sees the democratic, self-ruled island as part of its territory which is to be seized one day, by force if necessary, and rages at any diplomatic attempts to recognize it as an independent nation. Though Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 to recognize Beijing as China's sole official representative, the United States remains Taiwan's most powerful ally and its top arms supplier. "We are committed to the proposition that Taiwan must have the means to defend itself, and that is consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act," Blinken stressed on Monday. "We've continued to provide significant equipment and sales to Taiwan for that purpose. "We have real concerns about the increased aggression that the government in Beijing has shown toward Taiwan," Blinken added.
China vents anger at US Senators' visit to Taiwan Beijing sees democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory which is to be seized one day, by force if necessary, and rages at any diplomatic attempts to recognise it as an independent nation. A delegation of three US lawmakers made a stopover on Sunday in Taipei, where they announced Washington would donate 750,000 coronavirus vaccine doses to Taiwan. The gift came as Taiwan accuses China of hampering its efforts to secure vaccines, saying it is part of Beijing's ongoing campaign to isolate the island. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China "expresses strong dissatisfaction (toward the visit) and has lodged a solemn representation". He also urged the United States to "be prudent when dealing with the Taiwan question and avoid sending any erroneous signals to separatist forces" on the island. But the relatively tepid statement from a ministry notorious for its pugnacious responses to any diplomatic overtures to Taiwan awoke the scorn of China's online patriots. "Saying that is the same as saying nothing, I'm sick of it," one Weibo user commented Monday on a post by state-run tabloid Global Times about Wang's statement. "You should send two fighter jets to escort them!" another user urged. China's diplomats and official propaganda have in recent years encouraged an assertive, belligerent form of nationalism, with officials tweeting insults and conspiracy theories about diplomatic rivals and state TV gloating at the chaos caused by protests and coronavirus outbreaks abroad. After years of increasingly bellicose language, President Xi Jinping last week called for a change in tone from China. He urged the nation to show a softer face abroad, cultivating a "reliable, admirable and respectable image".
Taiwan boosts coronavirus testing for tech industry Hsinchu, Taiwan (AFP) June 3, 2021 Taiwan is ramping up testing and vaccinations for tech industry workers in a bid to stop a sudden surge in coronavirus cases hitting its semiconductor industry at a time of global shortages. In the science parks of northern Hsinchu city, where the world's largest contract microchip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is based, local officials have set up rapid testing sites. "The Hsinchu Science Park is home to some very important global semiconductor factories," mayor Lin Ch ... read more
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