Taiwan will not be 'provocateur' in cross-strait relations: Tsai
ROC Central News Agency
04/19/2023 11:30 PM
Taipei, April 19 (CNA) Taiwan's government will not be a "provocateur" in cross-Taiwan Strait relations as it works with "democratic partners" to promote peace and stability in the region, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the American business community in Taipei on Wednesday.
"Despite the challenges from China, we have been, and will continue to be cautious in our management of cross-strait affairs," Tsai said at the Hsieh Nien Fan banquet held by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taiwan.
Although Tsai did not specify what challenges she was referring to, she likely meant the increasing military and economic pressure Beijing has exerted on Taipei in recent years. She also warned of "more [challenges] ahead."
"We will not be the provocateur, and we will work with our democratic partners to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and in particular, across the Taiwan Strait," she said at the event attended by over 800 guests.
Laura Rosenberger, the newly appointed chairperson of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) -- the agency handling Washington's relations with Taipei in the absence of formal diplomatic ties -- took a harder line on China, saying China's military exercises around Taiwan "undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
Rosenberger, who arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a six-day visit, was specifically referring to military exercises Beijing launched around Taiwan in early April, after Tsai met with United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, as part of her 10-day overseas trip.
"There was no reason for Beijing to turn President Tsai's transit, which was consistent with longstanding U.S. policy, into something it was not or use it as a pretext to overreact," she said.
The U.S. government is "working closely with Taiwan to uphold peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" as it is necessary not only for Taiwan's security and prosperity, but for the region's and the world's as well, Rosenberger said.
The U.S. will also "continue to uphold our commitments to support Taiwan's self-defense capacity," she added.
While Taipei and Washington have billed Tsai's visiting New York and California as "transits," Beijing saw it as an act of provocation because it was the first time a Taiwanese president met with such a high-ranking American politician on U.S. soil.
Chinese officials had warned the two sides against carrying out the meeting and followed through with their threat to take "resolute measures" should Tsai and McCarthy meet, by simulating precision strikes on targets in waters near Taiwan and a blockade of the island.
Public opinion in Taiwan was also divided on the meeting. While DPP supporters believe Taiwan's president has every right to carry out such high-level visits and Taipei should conduct its diplomatic affairs as it desires, some Taiwanese people saw such moves as unnecessary and antagonistic towards Beijing, causing cross-strait tensions to further intensify, without bringing concrete benefits to Taiwan.
On the economic front, Tsai sought to assure the business community in Taiwan that her administration continued to work to ensure a diverse and consistent energy supply in the country.
At the same time, Tsai said, the government remains committed to improving Taiwan's business environment.
Meanwhile, Rosenberger, who assumed her role in late March, pledged to bring Taiwanese and American economies "even closer together" and ensure that the bilateral relationship continues to thrive.
Rosenberger also encouraged more Taiwanese semiconductor businesses to invest in the U.S., adding the U.S. government "stand[s] ready to assist Taiwan's businesses in addressing any challenges they may face."
"Our attracting Taiwan investment to the United States does not come at the expense of Taiwan, just as our supporting U.S. investment in Taiwan does not come at the expense of the United States," she said.
Meanwhile, AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk said Taiwanese investments in the U.S. help to "broaden and diversify global supply chains, increase opportunities for business growth and job creation, and enable Taiwan semiconductor companies to better serve their U.S. clients."
Both Rosenberger and Oudkirk appeared to try to sooth worries in Taiwan that Taiwanese semiconductor makers' decisions to invest in foundries in the U.S. to manufacture microchips there, following U.S. expectations that they do so starting with the Trump administration, may cause Taiwan to lose its competitive advantage and unique importance as the hub of chipmaking in the world.
(By Teng Pei-ju)
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