Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

US preparing arms deliveries: senator

Taipei Times

The US is working on arms deliveries to Taiwan, visiting US Senator John Hoeven told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, as he called on other countries in the Indo-Pacific region to work together to safeguard peace and stability.

Hoeven arrived in Taiwan yesterday for his first visit to the country. Upon arrival for his three-day visit, he said: “I felt now it’s an important time to come to see my friends.”

US strategic clarity on Taiwan is needed

Joseph Bosco

The visit by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) proved to be more momentous than expected. While Von der Leyen delivered a clear deterrent message on Ukraine, human rights and Taiwan, Macron gave Xi a double gift and seriously damaged Western solidarity.

First, he effectively legitimized Beijing’s claim to Taiwan by equating it to political unity in Europe, saying: “As Europeans, our concern is our unity. The Chinese are also concerned with their unity, and Taiwan is a component [of this unity] from their point of view.”

Finland changed, so should Taiwan

Tzou Jiing-wen 鄒景雯

This year, two countries have been thrust into the global spotlight: Finland, which on Tuesday last week became the 31st member of NATO, and Taiwan, which again became the center of attention as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), on behalf of the Taiwanese public, held a joint news conference alongside US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, in what was another sign of growing ties between Taipei and Washington.

For the entirety of last year, pundits drew parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine, and such prevailing trends of international relations remain relatively unchanged. In view of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Finland has made a historic decision in ditching its long-held policy toward Russia since World War II in a bid to safeguard its national security and sovereignty.

EU assertive, not united on China

Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy

How China interacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine would “be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech on the state of EU-China relations on March 30 in Brussels. Days later, she asserted the same message in Beijing, on a visit she chose to undertake with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The joint visit was meant to project European unity in Beijing, demonstrate that EU member states are converging toward a common position and signal that trying to exploit internal divisions might no longer pay off.

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