《TAIPEI TIMES》 Peace in everyone’s interests, including China’s: envoy

Representative to the US Alexander Yui speaks during a Fox News interview, which was aired on Saturday. Photo: Screengrab from Fox News’ YouTube channel

By William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNA Peace in the Taiwan Strait benefits all sides, Representative to the US Alexander Yui （俞大?） said in an interview aired on Saturday ahead of a highly anticipated US-China meeting this week.

The summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping （習近平） is to take place on Thursday and Friday in Beijing. In the lead-up to that meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked at least twice in the past week about Taiwan and said that the Trump-Xi meeting could touch on the issue and that US policy remained unchanged.

Washington has repeatedly reaffirmed in recent days that its position on Taiwan remained unchanged, Yui said in an interview with Fox News.

Taiwan’s position is that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait benefits the world, and in particular was in the interests of Taiwan, the US, Japan and China, Yui said.

Asked whether Taiwan was concerned that China could become more confident about imposing a blockade on the nation after observing developments involving Iran, Yui said that Washington’s actions in Iran, Venezuela and elsewhere showed that the US was willing to use all necessary means to achieve its objectives.

Beijing would also have to consider that “other powers with vested interests in the region” could respond if conflict were to erupt in the Taiwan Strait, as such a conflict would severely disrupt global trade and regional stability, he said.

Taiwan’s arms purchases were intended to counter China’s provocations and Washington sold Taipei weapons needed to address threats facing the nation in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” Yui said, adding that the legislature had recently passed a bill allocating additional resources for arms procurement.

The “six assurances” are guidelines used in conducting relations between the US and Taiwan, and were issued in 1982 by then-US president Ronald Reagan. The assurances say that the US would not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, hold prior consultations with the People’s Republic of China （PRC） regarding arms sales to Taiwan, play a mediation role between Taipei and Beijing, revise its Taiwan Relations Act, alter its position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan or pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with China.

Taiwan would do everything possible to make any Chinese invasion “extremely difficult,” Yui said.

“We believe in peace through strength,” he said, adding that Taiwan was willing to engage in dialogue with the PRC on the basis of mutual respect.

Taiwan is determined to defend its homeland and preserve peace, stability, and the democracy and freedoms it enjoys, he added.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES