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Agence France-Presse

The leader of a Taiwanese delegation that defied mainland Chinese anger to attend US President Donald Trump’s inauguration said on Friday that US-Taiwan ties were at an “historic high”.
Former premier Yu Shyi-kun, who headed the Taiwanese government between 2002 and 2005, led an 11-strong team to the ceremony on Washington’s National Mall.
His invitation to the event had enraged Beijing – which sees the self-ruling island as part of its own territory awaiting reunification – and sparked a diplomatic spat.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tweets congratulations to Trump
Beijing formally asked Washington not to welcome a Taiwanese party to the inauguration, leading Yu to denounce its leader President Xi Jinping as “narrow-minded”.
But, even if anger preceded the visit, Yu was all smiles on Friday after attending the event, along with parliamentarians from four Taiwanese parties.
Yu himself is a member and former chairman of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which is sceptical of cross-strait ties and defends Taipei’s autonomy.
He was enthused by the welcome he had received in Washington. “Taiwan-US relations are probably at their best right now,” he said.
Almost immediately after he won the November election, Trump provoked Beijing’s ire by accepting a congratulatory call from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.
Washington cut formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, recognising the Communist mainland rulers in Beijing as the sole government of “one China”.
But, under the terms of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, Washington maintains an ambiguous approach to the island, maintains trade ties and sells Taipei weapons.
Is Taiwan the trump card in Sino-US relations?
It does not recognise Tsai as a head of state, however, and China was infuriated at what it saw as a breach of protocol in Trump’s acceptance of her call.
The then president-elect was unconcerned, and some US conservatives praised him for standing up for a democratic ally.
Earlier this month, Tsai transited through the United States on her way to meetings in Latin America, and at the airport she met Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz.
Yu, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, said that Trump’s decision to take Tsai’s call and to allow the transit visit were good signs that relations are warming.
“She received a very high-level and good treatment in the US, and also there was the call between President Trump and President Tsai, which raised Taiwan’s visibility,” he said.
Asked whether he had met officials from former president Barack Obama’s outgoing administration or Trump’s new one, Yu was cautious.
“According to the norms and understanding that we have between Taiwan and the US, if we have any meetings with members of the administration we cannot disclose that,” he said.
Yu noted that Trump had, in one of his notoriously intemperate Tweets, called the United States’ one-China policy into question.
But, while Yu welcomed this, he said that some in Taiwan had been concerned that in follow-up interviews Trump had appeared to suggest he would use Taiwan ties as a bargaining chip.
‘I don’t know why we have to be bound by a one-China policy’: Trump questions decades-long stance
In December, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that “everything is on the table, including one China, but suggested Beijing could save the policy by negotiating a trade deal with him.
Yu said he had raised the idea that Trump may “sell out Taiwan” at conservative think tanks in Washington, but had been reassured that the Taiwan Relations Act would forbid this.
Taiwan’s other concern is the apparent collapse of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a planned free trade deal championed by Obama, but denounced by Trump.
“Under the Obama administration they were very keen on getting TPP signed,” Yu said. “Taiwan and the US had an understanding for Taiwan to be part of the TPP.”
However, if TPP cannot be salvaged he hopes a separate Taiwan-US trade pact might be signed and that Taiwanese investors might help Trump fulfil his pledge to create US jobs.
In the meantime, he can only lament that Taiwan’s population of 23 million remains “under constant unfair threat” from its neighbours because it is not a recognised United Nations member.
Donald Trump right to question one-China policy, says ex-US national security adviser
“Taiwan and the US are both members of a democratic alliance,” he said.
“We share the same values of freedom and democracy and human rights and peace. Our values are the same,” he insisted.
And, asked whether he believed that one day Taiwan would be a fully sovereign “normal country”, he smiled and said: “We really hope so.”


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SCMP

Taiwan envoy hails US ties after President Trump’s inauguration

Former Taiwanese premier Yu Shyi-kun in Washington on Friday after attending the inauguration of US President Donald Trump as the head of the island’s delegation. Photo: AP

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006, file photo, Democratic Progressive Party member Yu Shyi-kun, speaks to the media during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC. Yu will be joined by lawmakers and local government officials representing both Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties at Donald Trump's inauguration Friday, highlighting the unusually high profile during the presidential transition process. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

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Former premier Yu Shyi-kun, who headed Taiwan’s government from 2002 to 2005, led 11-strong team to the ceremony in Washington


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Taiwan envoy hails US ties after President Trump’s inauguration

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Former premier Yu Shyi-kun, who headed Taiwan’s government from 2002 to 2005, led 11-strong team to the ceremony in Washington

Former premier Yu Shyi-kun, who headed Taiwan’s government from 2002 to 2005, led 11-strong team to the ceremony in Washington