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US Navy transits Taiwan Strait

Taipei Times

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville transits the East China Sea in the Taiwan Strait during routine operations yesterday.
Photo: AFP / Justin Stack / US NAVY

Two US warships yesterday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the US Navy said, the first such transit since China staged unprecedented military drills around Taiwan, which the Ministry of National Defense said are still ongoing.

In a statement, the US Navy said the transit “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Hsia’s feeble objections to China

Lin Han 林志翰

Even as China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was conducting live-fire drills and a simulated blockade in the waters around Taiwan, and despite concerns that his plans would seriously damage the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) prospects in the November local elections, KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) insisted on leading a party delegation to China.

Unable to prevent the trip, KMT politicians were only able to call for the itinerary of the visit to be public and transparent, and urge Hsia to express Taiwanese’s dissatisfaction with the PLA’s exercises.

Senator calls for independence support

Taipei Times

President Tsai Ing-wen, right, poses for a photograph with US Senator Marsha Blackburn yesterday.
Photo: EPA-EFE

It is important for democracies to support Taiwan as it works to preserve its independence and freedom, US Senator Marsha Blackburn said at a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday.

“It is important ... that freedom-loving nations support Taiwan as they seek to preserve their independence,” said Blackburn, who is a member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

Voiceless Uighurs need more truth tellers

Rebiya Kadeer and Kok Bayraq

Claims of Uighur forced labor are reasonable and constitute crimes against humanity, Keele University international law professor Tomoya Obokata said in a report to the UN. This is not only the fruit of his academic efforts, but the result of unwavering virtue in the face of difficulties and threats.

UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan played a role in China’s Uighur propaganda campaign and received US$200,000 from the Chinese for her efforts.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also failed to stand up to Beijing’s pressure during her visit to Xinjiang. Even if China distorted her words when presenting her evaluation of the human rights situation, which was the basis of her report, she, as an admirer of China, did not dare to correct any mistakes in these crucial points.

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