A flurry of events around the United States shows that Taiwan’s longstanding “strategic ambiguity” is getting some attention.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U. S. House of Representatives is holding a full day of hearings this week to explore “Why Taiwan Matters”, a federal judge has set a hearing date over a Kuomintang default in a case involving Republic of China gold bonds, WikiLeaks revealed a close relationship between the ROC government and the American Institute in Taiwan while Taiwanese-American groups in Los Angeles and Boston urged eviction of the ROC from Taiwan.
U.S. House of Representatives
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chair of the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, has scheduled a day of hearings on Taiwan’s status and invited Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs to answer questions. Also asked to attend is Derek Mitchell, Campbell’s counterpart at the Pentagon.
Ros-Lehtinen shook up Hu Jintao’s recent visit to Washington, D.C. when she confronted the People’s Republic of China ruler.
Also testifying before Congress are June Treufel Dreyer of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Randall Schriver from the Center of Strategic and International Studies, Ruppert Hammond-Chambers of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council
, and Nancy BernKopf Tucker from Georgetoiwn University. No one from Taiwan was invited to speak.
Taiwan Civil Rights vs. Kuomintang Business Management
In California, U.S. District Judge James Ware has scheduled a hearing on a default by the Kuomintang Business Management Committee. The Clerk of the Court has already filed a default notice against the KMT business group for not responding to a lawsuit, Taiwan Civil Rights Litigation Organization, et al vs. Kuomintang Business Management Committee, over defaulted Chinese gold bonds once worth millions of dollars.
In an unusual move that should make the KMT defendants uneasy, Judge Ware scheduled the hearing before the Plaintiffs even requested it. The long arm of the U.S. courts may soon be extended to reach Taiwan.
WikiLeaks secret documents revealed
WikiLeaks released a partially redacted “Secret” cable from the Secretary of State to the American Institute in Taiwan dated March 23, 2009. The cable requested the AIT “approach appropriate officials” in the ROC about restricting the export of ballistic missile technology to Iran. The secret memo discussed a “U.S.-Taiwan Gameplan” on non-proliferation.
Taiwan Civil Government
In Los Angeles, the Taiwan Civil Government group staffed a booth at an annual Asian-American fair educating attendees about U.S. responsibility for Taiwan under the San Francisco Peace Treaty that ended World War II in the Pacific.
In Boston, the annual Charles River Festival saw a lively demonstration for expelling the Republic of China in-exile from Taiwan from two local groups that included parade dancers.
For further information on Taiwan’s status click HERE
Source: Michael Richardson - Boston Progressive Examiner
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