The Guardian-Taiwan president stops in Hawaii during Pacific tour drawing ire from China
December 1, 2024 4 min 765 words
这篇报道主要内容是，台湾总统赖清德在出访太平洋岛国（马绍尔群岛图瓦卢和帕劳）前，先抵达美国夏威夷停留两日，此行旨在促进全球和平与稳定。中国则表示强烈抗议，认为台湾是中国领土，反对台湾领导人进行任何形式的外国访问。 评论： 该报道存在一定偏见，但同时也包含了一些客观事实。例如，报道中提及了台湾总统出访太平洋国家，强调了台湾作为民主政体在全球范围内促进和平与稳定的作用，这体现了台湾希望积极参与国际事务的愿望。但同时，报道也体现出西方媒体的偏见，尤其是对于中国立场的描述过于简单化。中国对台湾的立场是长期且一贯的，台湾问题是中国内政，涉及中国核心利益，在此问题上中国自然会采取坚决的态度和措施。该报道只强调了中国对台湾访问的反对，而没有提及中国在维护国家统一和领土完整方面的合理关切，以及中国和平统一的政策目标。此外，报道中提及的中美台关系也较为片面，没有全面反映出台湾问题的历史和现状的复杂性。总之，该报道在一定程度上反映了西方媒体的偏见，有必要从多角度全方位地看待和分析台湾问题。
The Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, has begun a two-day US stopover in Hawaii as part of a Pacific tour after declaring his democratically governed island a key force for promoting global peace and stability.
The trip has sparked fury from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory and opposes any foreign interactions or visits by the island’s leaders. China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday it had lodged “serious protests” with the US.
China has been stepping up military pressure against Taiwan, including two rounds of war games this year, and security sources have told Reuters that Beijing may hold more military exercises to coincide with Lai’s tour, which also includes a stopover in Guam, a US territory.
It is Lai’s first foreign trip since taking office in May. After Hawaii, he will go to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, three of the 12 countries that retain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei and a part of the world where China has been exerting stronger influence.
Speaking to reporters before his departure, Lai said: “Thank you to the US government for upholding the principles of safety, dignity, comfort and convenience for helping the smooth process of this trip.”
Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, said in a statement after he, the mayor of Honolulu and the city’s police chief greeted Lai on the tarmac of Honolulu airport on Saturday and that the meeting was a “momentous occasion”, highlighting Hawaii’s shared values of resilience and collaboration with Taiwan.
Green later hosted Lai for an emergency management briefing to discuss handling natural disasters, he added.
Ingrid Larson, the Washington office managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the body that serves as the unofficial US embassy in Taiwan, was also at the airport to welcome Lai. Laura Rosenberger, chair of the institute, posted on X that “Ingrid Larson and the great community of Hawaii are excited to greet you!”
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said the welcome exceeded those of past visits.
“President Lai’s transit was the first time that he was received at the airport, and a red carpet was rolled and flowers were presented, which was the highest level of courtesy ever, different from the past mode of entry into the terminal, and the level of the reception also exceeded previous norms,” CNA said.
Asked about this, a spokesperson for the US State Department said: “The transit is private and unofficial and squarely within precedent.”
Later on Saturday, Lai was to visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbour, which marks the resting place of some of those killed during the 1941 Japanese attack that brought the US into the second world war, CNA said.
Hawaii and Guam are home to major US military bases.
China also vowed “resolute countermeasures” on Sunday to a recently approved US arms sale to Taiwan, saying it had lodged a complaint over the sale, which it said seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty.
The US State Department approved the potential sale – worth an estimated $385m – of spare parts and support for F-16 jets and radars to Taiwan, the Pentagon said on Friday, a few hours before Lai set off from Taiwan.
The Taiwanese leader’s trip comes as the Republican US president-elect, Donald Trump, prepares to take office in January. Taipei publicly congratulated him on his victory. During his campaign, Trump suggested Taiwan should pay the US for its defence.
Taiwanese presidents often make use of what are officially only stopovers in the US to meet friendly US politicians and give speeches. Such stopovers are typically on visits to far-flung allies in the Pacific, Latin America or the Caribbean.
“This trip is the beginning of a new era of value-based diplomacy,” Lai said. “Democracy, prosperity and peace are the expectations of the people of Taiwan, and they are also the values that I, as president, must actively promote.”
The US has only unofficial relations with Taiwan and follows a “one-China” policy under which it recognises Beijing diplomatically, but the US government is obliged by law to supply the island with the means to defend itself.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says it has a right to engage with the world and for its leaders to travel abroad.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse