Kiri

1

Newsletter (Issue 032/ 2024)

~Published by Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia~

Website: https://www.roc-taiwan.org/lv/index.html

FB: Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia

Twitter: @Taiwan_Latvia

E-mail:[email protected] Date:July 10, 2024

1 US government officially notifies Taiwan of the 15th arms sale

Taiwan has received official notification from the US government that its executive

branch has informed Congress of a US$360.2 million sale to Taiwan of loitering missile

systems, including antipersonnel (Switchblade 300) and antiarmor (Altius 600M)

munitions. This is the Biden administration’s 15th arms sale package to Taiwan since it

assumed office in 2021. Continuing the US policy of recent years of normalizing arms

sales to Taiwan, the deal demonstrates the US government’s strong support for meeting

Taiwan’s defense needs, particularly in building asymmetric warfare and deterrence

capabilities, as well as high regard for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Recently China has frequently conducted gray-zone operations to intimidate Taiwan and

neighboring countries and employed military coercion in provocative actions against

democratic nations in the region. The United States has worked with like-minded

partners to repeatedly urge China to cease such irrational behavior as harassing Taiwan

and damaging the peaceful and stable cross-strait status quo

2 US State Department condemned China on punishing Taiwan independence

China recently issued what it referred to as a set of judicial guidelines for imposing

criminal punishments on diehard Taiwan independence separatists for conducting or

inciting secession. In response, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller

stated that the United States strongly condemned China’s escalatory and destabilizing

language and actions, adding that the United States urged restraint and that no unilateral

changes ought to be made to the status quo. Pointing out that threats and legal warfare

would not achieve peaceful resolution to cross-strait differences, Mr. Miller called on

China to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.

China has recently exploited a variety of opportunities to engage in flagrant legal and

cognitive warfare and gray-zone coercion. Its attempts to strangle Taiwan’s democracy

2

and freedom through the aforementioned guidelines, suppress Taiwan’s international

space by misrepresenting and erroneously citing United Nations General Assembly

Resolution 2758 over the years, pursue regional expansion, challenge the status quo,

and increase its own influence have all elicited significant concern and strong

condemnation from the international community.

3 G7 leaders supported the Taiwan Strait peace and stability

The G7 leaders made an affirmative statement of the importance of peace and stability

across the Taiwan Strait and support for the Taiwan’s meaningful participation in

international organizations in a communique issued on June 15 in Italy, making the

fourth consecutive show of support from the grouping of industrialized nations.

In the communique, G7 leaders said cross-strait peace and stability is indispensable to

international security and prosperity, adding that they called for a peaceful resolution of

relevant issues. They also expressed backing for Taiwan’s engagement in global bodies,

including the WHA and technical meetings of the WHO.

In addition, G7 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and

expressed concerns about China’s comprehensive nonmarket policies and practices,

which have had global spillovers and led to market distortions. They added that

measures like de-risking and diversifying supply chains can foster resilience against

economic coercion.

4 Taiwan’s President emphasized peace in the Taiwan Strait

benefits the whole world

Speaking to new recruits at an army base in

Taichung in central Taiwan recently, Taiwan’s

President William Lai said peace in the Taiwan

Strait benefits the whole world and the international

community believes that without it, there can be

neither prosperity nor security. He added that the

international community believes that peace and

stability in the Taiwan Strait is a necessary component for global security and

prosperity. No matter whether it’s the United States, Japan, South Korea or the

European Union, they all agree on this point, opposing any country using force to

change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

5 US congress approved amendment lifting limits between US and Taiwan officials

An amendment to the U.S. State Department spending bill that will prevent the

3

department from spending funds to enforce restrictions on high-level bilateral U.S.-

Taiwan communications was passed by voice vote in the House of Representatives on

June 27. The amendment would prevent the enforcement of “arbitrary, self-imposed”

State Department rules that restrict communication between U.S. officials and their

Taiwanese counterparts, which are designed to prevent high-level coordination between

the U.S. and Taiwan.

6 Taiwan Research Institute hikes GDP forecast to 3.57% for 2024

Taiwan’s economy is likely to expand by 3.57% in 2024 backed by the high-tech sector,

the Taiwan Research Institute (TRI) on June 27. A majority of think tanks have raised

their 2024 predictions for the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to a level above

3%, indicating the economy was doing much better than last year. Domestic

consumption was returning to normal levels, with a growth rate of 2.75% likely for this

year. The think tank also released its electricity prosperity index in May, with the

manufacturing sector and the semiconductor industry showing strong advances.

Traditional sectors of the economy, including plastics, rubber, and chemicals, were

recovering from a slump.

7 Czech Republic tries to attract Taiwan investors

During an interview on June 22, Taiwan’s Minister of Economics Kuo Jyh-huei said

that the Czech Republic is interested in attracting Taiwan businesses due to the presence

of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in nearby Dresden,

Germany. The minister said that a Taiwan-friendly country like the Czech Republic was

making use of its geographical proximity to the TSMC project to try and attract

investors from Taiwan for its supply chain. The world’s largest contract chipmaker

plans to start building the factory in Dresden during the final quarter of 2024, with

production launching in 2027.

8 German Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee passed friendly resolution

on cross-strait situation

Proposed by the governing traffic light coalition comprising the Social Democratic

Party, Alliance 90/Greens, and the Free Democratic Party, this was the first resolution

passed by the committee recognizing the importance of peace and stability across the

Taiwan Strait and opposing any unilateral change to the cross-strait status quo. The

resolution also pointed out that European and Indo-Pacific security were closely linked

and that German involvement in Indo-Pacific security affairs was commensurate with

German interests and those of the European Union (EU). Furthermore, the resolution

4

especially recognized a previously established Taiwan-Germany platform for civil

society exchanges for having advanced bilateral dialogue. It also supported Taiwan’s

participation in international bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and

backed engagement between Taiwan’s civil society and the United Nations and its

specialized agencies.