TVBQGVN: Những Bức Không ảnh TVBQGVN của Bill Robie 1968/1969

Những Bức Không ảnh TVBQGVN của Bill Robie 1968/1969

 

 Mô hình TVBQGVN có BCH

Bản đồ Ðà Lạt của quân đội Hoa Kỳ năm 1963 không có BCH tại TVBQGVN

Xây dựng Nhà H trước khi xây dựng BCH/TVBQGVN (trước 1963). Phải chăng đó là lý do BCH không được gọi là Nhà.

Giáo Hoàng Học Viện PIOX Ðà Lạt. Không ảnh của Jerry Eastburg (1968)

Phải chăng BCH/TVBQGVN là Giáo Hoàng Học Viện PIOX thu nhỏ và có đầu tròn như con ó. Giáo Hoàng Học Viện PIOX xây dựng năm 1961 và hoàn thành 1964, sau công trình xây dựng TVBQGVN khởi đầu năm 1960.

 

Vietnam, The Internet Power in the Militarists' Control (Chinhphu.vn) Thượng tướng (Việt Cộng) Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa giữ chức Trưởng Ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương

Vietnam, The Internet Power in the Militarists' Control

Thượng tướng (Việt Cộng) Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa giữ chức Trưởng Ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương

 https://baochinhphu.vn/Tin-noi-bat/Thuong-tuong-Nguyen-Trong-Nghia-giu-chuc-Truong-Ban-Tuyen-giao-Trung-uong/423595.vgp

 

(Chinhphu.vn) - Bộ Chính trị phân công Thượng tướng Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa, Bí thư Trung ương Đảng khóa XIII, Phó Chủ nhiệm Tổng cục Chính trị QĐND Việt Nam giữ chức Trưởng Ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương.

Sáng 19/2, tại Hà Nội, Ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương tổ chức Hội nghị triển khai quyết định của Bộ Chính trị về công tác cán bộ.

 Tham dự hội nghị có các đồng chí: Võ Văn Thưởng, Ủy viên Bộ Chính trị, Thường trực Ban Bí thư; Đại tướng Lương Cường, Ủy viên Bộ Chính trị, Chủ nhiệm Tổng cục Chính trị Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam cùng nhiều đồng chí lãnh đạo các cơ quan, bộ, ban, ngành Trung ương.

Tại hội nghị, đồng chí Nguyễn Thanh Bình, Phó trưởng Ban thường trực Ban Tổ chức Trung ương, đã công bố Quyết định số 06-QĐNS/TW của Bộ Chính trị về việc phân công Ủy viên Ban Bí thư.

Theo Quyết định số 06- QĐNS/TW ngày 18/2/2021, Bộ Chính trị phân công Thượng tướng Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa, Bí thư Trung ương Đảng khóa XIII, Phó Chủ nhiệm Tổng cục Chính trị QĐND Việt Nam giữ chức Trưởng Ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương.

Đồng chí Võ Văn Thưởng, Ủy viên Bộ Chính trị, Thường trực Ban Bí thư đã trao quyết định và tặng hoa chúc mừng đồng chí Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa.

Thường trực Ban Bí thư Võ Văn Thưởng chúc mừng Thượng tướng Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa, Bí thư Trung ương Đảng, Phó Chủ nhiệm Tổng cục Chính trị Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam được Bộ Chính trị phân công đảm nhiệm chức vụ Trưởng ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương.

Đồng chí Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa được đào tạo cơ bản, được rèn luyện, thử thách trưởng thành trong quân đội, đã trải qua nhiều nhiệm vụ quan trọng từ cơ sở đến lãnh đạo chủ chốt Tổng cục Chính trị quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam. Với kinh nghiệm phong phú được tích lũy từ những năm tháng công tác trong quân đội, với sự am hiểu về công tác tư tưởng, văn hóa, văn nghệ, báo chí, truyền thông và sự gắn bó chặt chẽ của đồng chí Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa với Ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương thời gian vừa qua, Bộ Chính trị tin tưởng đồng chí sẽ hoàn thành tốt nhiệm vụ được giao.

Đồng chí Võ Văn Thưởng đề nghị lãnh đạo Ban Tuyên giáo Trung ương, tập thể cán bộ, công chức, viên chức, người lao động của Ban, đoàn kết, gắn bó, phát huy truyền thống và những kết quả đã đạt được, không ngừng nỗ lực, sáng tạo, quyết tâm cao để hoàn thành tốt nhiệm vụ, đạt được nhiều thành tựu cao hơn nữa, góp phần thực hiện thắng lợi Nghị quyết Đại hội XIII của Đảng.

More

(N10TV) 19/02: Vì Sao Tướng Quân Đội Việt Nam Được Điều Qua Nắm Nghành Tuyên Giáo Đảng , Và Cả Internet

19/02: Vì Sao Tướng Quân Đội Việt Nam Được Điều Qua Nắm Nghành Tuyên Giáo Đảng , Và Cả Internet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU-8slPbHMs&list=UUs_qVVbQ0Oc-IuN-3JKWRZw&index=24

 

(The Office of Donald J. Trump) Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America

 

Source:

https://twitter.com/JennPellegrino/status/1360696019743309825/photo/1
https://twitter.com/JennPellegrino/status/1360696019743309825/photo/2 

 

Nguyễn Tấn Hiệp K25 Trại Mát, Ðà Lạt, Việt Nam.

Nguyễn Tấn Hiệp K25 Trại Mát, Ðà Lạt, Việt Nam. 

Ảnh do THH chụp Nov. 1968 bằng máy film Kodak Mỹ.

(Bloomberg) Trump Halts Huawei Supply in Final China Blow, Reuters Says. (Reuters Exclusive): Trump admin slams China's Huawei, halting shipments from Intel, others - sources. (Reuters) Reuters Exclusive: Trump administration adds China's Comac, Xiaomi to Chinese military blacklist.

 

 

Trump Halts Huawei Supply in Final China Blow, Reuters Says

 https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/trump-halts-huawei-suppliers-last-000736206.html

 

Linly Lin and Vlad Savov

Sun, January 17, 2021, 4:54 PM

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government notified several of Huawei Technologies Co.’s suppliers that it’s revoking their licenses to work with the Chinese company and rejecting other applications in the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency, Reuters reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Current licensed suppliers that have been notified include Intel Corp., Reuters said. In addition, the Commerce Department indicated its intent to deny “a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei,” according to an email obtained by the news agency. Representatives for Intel and the U.S. Commerce Department didn’t immediately respond to requests by Bloomberg News seeking comment.

The latest move against Huawei is probably the Trump administration’s last strike to weaken the Chinese telecommunications giant and puts the spotlight on how the incoming Biden administration will approach the U.S.-China relationship. Asian chip stocks and Huawei suppliers including Samsung Electronics Co., Tokyo Electron Ltd., Advantest Corp. and Lasertec Corp. slid between 1% and 4% in early Monday trading.

Intel was among a small group of companies that the U.S. government cleared to do business with Huawei, which it put on its so-called entity list of national security threats in May 2019. Trump administration sanctions have cut Huawei off from business-critical relationships with the likes of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which provided the Android software on hundreds of millions of Huawei smartphones, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. for its cutting-edge chips.

 

Linly Lin and Vlad Savov

Sun, January 17, 2021, 4:54 PM

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government notified several of Huawei Technologies Co.’s suppliers that it’s revoking their licenses to work with the Chinese company and rejecting other applications in the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency, Reuters reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Current licensed suppliers that have been notified include Intel Corp., Reuters said. In addition, the Commerce Department indicated its intent to deny “a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei,” according to an email obtained by the news agency. Representatives for Intel and the U.S. Commerce Department didn’t immediately respond to requests by Bloomberg News seeking comment.

The latest move against Huawei is probably the Trump administration’s last strike to weaken the Chinese telecommunications giant and puts the spotlight on how the incoming Biden administration will approach the U.S.-China relationship. Asian chip stocks and Huawei suppliers including Samsung Electronics Co., Tokyo Electron Ltd., Advantest Corp. and Lasertec Corp. slid between 1% and 4% in early Monday trading.

Intel was among a small group of companies that the U.S. government cleared to do business with Huawei, which it put on its so-called entity list of national security threats in May 2019. Trump administration sanctions have cut Huawei off from business-critical relationships with the likes of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which provided the Android software on hundreds of millions of Huawei smartphones, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. for its cutting-edge chips.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Huawei has relied on Intel much less, primarily for its servers and consumer laptop products. A representative for the Chinese company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: Trump’s China Inc. Onslaught Leaves Key Decisions for Biden

Trump has escalated his campaign to curb China’s technological rise as his term draws to a close. Xiaomi Corp., another smartphone and consumer electronics vendor, was among nine firms added to the U.S. Defense Department’s list of companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military, a move that will restrict U.S. investments in its securities. Other companies include state-owned planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, which is central to China’s goal of creating a narrow-body plane that can compete with Boeing Co. and Airbus SE.

The profile of the companies targeted, including in the latest announcements on Thursday, is staggering. They include China’s three biggest telecom firms, its top chipmaker, its biggest social media and gaming players, its top two smartphone makers, its main deepwater energy explorer, its premier military aerospace contractor, its leading drone manufacturer and its primary commercial planemaker.

While the scope of Trump’s unprecedented actions has roiled markets, the full reckoning of their impact largely hinges on President-elect Joe Biden. His incoming administration will have the power to either keep the restrictions in place, remove them or tighten them further.

Read more: U.S. Blacklists Xiaomi in Widening Assault on China Tech

(Updates with share action from the third paragraph)

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

---

Exclusive: Trump admin slams China's Huawei, halting shipments from Intel, others - sources

 

Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper

Sun, January 17, 2021, 10:38 AM

By Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The action - likely the last against Huawei Technologies under Republican President Donald Trump - is the latest in a long-running effort to weaken the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, which Washington sees as a national security threat.

The notices came amid a flurry of U.S. efforts against China in the final days of Trump's administration. Democrat Joe Biden will take the oath of office as president on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Intel Corp declined to comment. Commerce said it could not comment on specific licensing decisions, but said the department continues to work with other agencies to "consistently" apply licensing policies in a way that "protects U.S. national security and foreign policy interests."

In an email seen by Reuters documenting the actions, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday the Commerce Department had issued "intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license." Sources familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was more than one revocation. One of the sources said eight licenses were yanked from four companies.

Japanese flash memory chip maker Kioxia Corp had at least one license revoked, two of the sources said. The company, formerly known as Toshiba Memory Corp, said it does not "disclose business details regarding specific products or customers.”

The semiconductor association's email said the actions spanned a "broad range" of products in the semiconductor industry and asked companies whether they had received notices.

The email noted that companies had been waiting "many months" for licensing decisions, and with less than a week left in the administration, dealing with the denials was a challenge.

A spokesman for the semiconductor group did not respond to a request for comment.

Companies that received the "intent to deny" notices have 20 days to respond, and the Commerce Department has 45 days to advise them of any change in a decision or it becomes final. Companies would then have another 45 days to appeal.

The United States put Huawei on a Commerce Department "entity list" in May 2019, restricting suppliers from selling U.S. goods and technology to it.

But some sales were allowed and others denied while the United States intensified its crackdown on the company, in part by expanding U.S. authority to require licenses for sales of semiconductors made abroad with American technology.

Before the latest action, some 150 licenses were pending for $120 billion worth of goods and technology, which had been held up because various U.S. agencies could not agree on whether they should be granted, a person familiar with the matter said.

Another $280 billion of license applications for goods and technology for Huawei still have not been processed, the source said, but now are more likely to be denied.

An August rule said that products with 5G capabilities were likely to be rejected, but sales of less sophisticated technology would be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The United States made the latest decisions during a half dozen meetings starting on Jan. 4 with senior officials from the departments of Commerce, State, Defense and Energy, the source said. The officials developed detailed guidance with regard to which technologies were capable of 5G, and then applied that standard, the person added.

That meant issuing denials for the vast majority of the roughly 150 disputed applications, and revoking the eight licenses to make those consistent with the latest denials, the source said.

The U.S. action came after pressure from a recent Trump appointee in the Commerce Department, Corey Stewart, who wanted to push through hardline China policies after being hired for a two-month stint in the agency at the end of the administration.

Trump has targeted Huawei in other ways. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, was arrested in Canada in December 2018, on a U.S. warrant. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, and the company itself were indicted for misleading banks about its business in Iran.

Meng has said she is innocent. Huawei has denied the claims of spying and pleaded not guilty to the indictment, which also includes charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and conspiring to steal trade secrets from American technology companies.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper; editing by Chris Sanders, Jonathan Oatis and Lincoln Feast.)

 ---

Exclusive: Trump administration adds China's Comac, Xiaomi to Chinese military blacklist

 

Mike Stone

Thu, January 14, 2021, 9:56 AM

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday added nine Chinese firms to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, including planemaker Comac and mobile phone maker Xiaomi, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The companies will be subject to a new U.S. investment ban which forces American investors to divest their holdings of the blacklisted firms by Nov. 11, 2021.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, Xiaomi and Comac did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The expanding blacklist is part of a bid by President Donald Trump to cement his tough-on-China legacy in the waning days of his presidency.

It was mandated by a 1999 law requiring the Defense Department to compile a catalogue of companies owned or controlled by the Chinese military. The Pentagon, which only began complying this year, has so far added 35 companies, including oil giant CNOOC and China's top chipmaker SMIC.

In November, Trump sought to give the law teeth by signing an executive order banning U.S. investment of the blacklisted firms.

(Writing and additional reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)

(Reuters) U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese officials, oil giant over South China Sea 'coercion'. (Associated Press) US imposes new sanction on Beijing over South China Sea, (REUTERS) U.S. stands by Taiwan, envoy says after cancelled trip. (AP) US cancels ambassador's controversial trip to Taiwan.

 

U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese officials, oil giant over South China Sea 'coercion'

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/u-adds-cnooc-economic-black-143327557.html 

 

 

1 / 2

U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese officials, oil giant over South China Sea 'coercion'

 

FILE PHOTO: Logos of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong

David Shepardson, Alexandra Alper and David Brunnstrom

Thu, January 14, 2021, 6:33 AM

By David Shepardson, Alexandra Alper and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States announced sanctions on Chinese state-owned enterprise and military officials on Thursday and added Chinese oil giant CNOOC to a blacklist, accusing them using coercion against states with rival claims in the South China Sea.

The moves by the Trump administration will further increase tensions with China, Washington's strategic rival in Asia, days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20.

The United States has long opposed China's extensive territorial claims on the South China Sea, a potentially resource-rich area that is also a strategic trade route. Washington accuses Beijing of seeking to intimidate other Southeast Asian coastal states such as Vietnam and the Philippines that have competing claims there.

China says Washington has sought to stir up controversy over maritime sovereignty claims and tried to destabilize the region by sending warships and planes to the South China Sea.

"The United States stands with Southeast Asian claimant states seeking to defend their sovereign rights and interests, consistent with international law," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in announcing the sanctions.

"We will continue to act until we see Beijing cease its coercive behavior in the South China Sea."

A statement from Pompeo said the United States was imposing visa restrictions on Chinese individuals, including executives of state-owned enterprises and officials of the Chinese Communist Party and navy.

He said the sanctions were directed against those "responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea, or (China's) use of coercion against Southeast Asian claimants to inhibit their access to offshore resources in the South China Sea."

The restrictions could also apply to immediate family members, he said.

The Commerce Department accused CNOOC of harassing and threatening offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction in the South China Sea, "with the goal of driving up the political risk for interested foreign partners, including Vietnam."

The department added CNOOC to an "Entity List" that requires firms to be granted a special license before they can receive exports of high-tech items from U.S. suppliers.

The department also said it was adding Chinese aviation firm Skyrizon to a Military End-User (MEU) List over its ability to develop military products including aircraft engines, restricting its access to U.S. exports.

The Trump administration added nine other Chinese firms to that blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, including planemaker Comac and mobile phone maker Xiaomi, according to a document seen by Reuters.

CNOOC was added last month to that list, which forces American investors to divest their holdings of in them by Nov. 11, 2021.

Pompeo said China had used CNOOC and other state enterprises as weapons to attempt to enforce Beijing’s "unlawful 'Nine Dashed Line'" claim in the South Chine Sea. He said CNOOC had deployed a mammoth survey rig off the Paracel islands in 2014 in an attempt to intimidate Vietnam.

The Chinese embassy, CNOOC and a legal representative of Skyrizon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CNOOC 'ACTS AS A BULLY'

President Donald Trump's administration has pursued a tough line on China and has kept up pressure in its final days, targeting what Washington sees as Beijing's bid to use corporations as a means to harness civilian technologies for military purposes.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said China's "reckless and belligerent actions in the South China Sea" were a threat to the security of the United States and of the international community.

"CNOOC acts a bully for the People’s Liberation Army to intimidate China's neighbors, and the Chinese military continues to benefit from government civil-military fusion policies for malign purposes," Ross said in a statement.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Alexandra Alper, Lisa Lambert, David Brunnstrom and Mike Stone in Washington; Additional Reporting by Brenda Goh in Beijing; Editing by Frances Kerry and Nick Macfie)

-----

US imposes new sanction on Beijing over South China Sea

  https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-imposes-sanction-beijing-over-173119086.html

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

MATTHEW LEE

Thu, January 14, 2021, 9:31 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday imposed new sanctions on Chinese officials over Beijing's increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea. The penalties are yet another Trump administration move that may make President-elect Joe Biden's diplomacy with China more difficult when he takes office next week.

In its waning days, the Trump administration put in place travel bans on an unspecified number of Chinese officials and their families for what it said were violations of international standards regarding the freedom of navigation in those waters. The administration also said it was adding China's state oil company, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, to a list of companies with which U.S. citizens are banned from doing business.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the sanctions less than a week Inauguration Day, next Wednesday, in what is the latest in a series of last-minute U.S. moves against China.

“The United States stands with Southeast Asian claimant states seeking to defend their sovereign rights and interests, consistent with international law,” Pompeo said. “We will continue to act until we see Beijing cease its coercive behavior in the South China Sea.”

Since the fall of 2019, the administration has steadily pressured China over human rights issues in Tibet, Hong Kong and the western region of Xinjiang, as well as over trade, Taiwan and the Chinese response to the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, the administration banned the import to the U.S. of some agricultural goods, provoking an angry response from Beijing.

Thursday's move affects Chinese officials and others involved in South China Sea activities. The announcement did not specific which officials would be targeted but many may be covered under previous actions,

In July, Pompeo announced that the U.S. would reject virtually all of China's maritime claims in the South China Sea, which are disputed by most of China's smaller neighbors.

---

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-envoy-u-n-assures-044627452.html 

 

 

U.S. stands by Taiwan, envoy says after cancelled trip

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft during a news conference

Michelle Nichols and Ben Blanchard

Wed, January 13, 2021, 8:46 PM

By Michelle Nichols and Ben Blanchard

NEW YORK/TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States stands by Taiwan and always will, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft said following a call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who told her the island would continue to seek access to U.N. meetings.

Craft had planned to visit Taipei this week, in the teeth of strong objections from China which views the island as its own territory.

But the trip was cancelled by the State Department as part of a bar on all travel ahead of the transition to the incoming Biden administration.

Craft, who is due to leave the role when Joe Biden assumes the presidency next week, wrote on Twitter that it was a "great privilege" to speak to Tsai.

"We discussed the many ways Taiwan is a model for the world, as demonstrated by its success in fighting COVID-19 and all that Taiwan has to offer in the fields of health, technology and cutting-edge science," she said.

"Unfortunately, Taiwan is unable to share those successes in UN venues, including the World Health Assembly, as a result of PRC obstruction," Craft added, referring to the People's Republic of China.

"I made clear to President Tsai that the U.S. stands with Taiwan and always will, as friends and partners, standing shoulder to shoulder as pillars of democracy."

Craft's visit would have been highly symbolic as Taiwan is not a U.N. member due to China's objections. Beijing says only it has the right to speak for Taiwan on the world stage, something Taipei's democratically elected government rejects.

Tsai told Craft that Taiwan would keep pushing for access to the United Nations and U.N.-related meetings.

"We will continue to show that Taiwan is a force for good and vital partner to the world and we are able and determined to contribute to the international community," Tsai said on Thursday during the video conference, according to clips provided by her office.

"Moving forward we will keep pushing for our participation in the United Nations and U.N.-affiliated meetings and events and I hope that the United States will continue to support our efforts."

The Taiwan presidential office added that David Feith, Deputy U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs was also on the call.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the United Nations was made up of sovereign states and Taiwan had unfettered access to the World Health Oganization, which Taipei's government disputes.

"Certain U.S. politicians will pay a heavy price for their wrong words and deeds," Zhao told reporters.

China has been angered by stepped-up support for Taiwan from the administration of outgoing President Donald Trump, including trips to Taipei by top U.S. officials, further straining Sino-U.S. ties.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said he was lifting restrictions on contacts between U.S. officials and their Taiwanese counterparts.

Craft's Taiwan trip appeared to be another part of an effort by Pompeo and Trump's Republican administration to lock in a tough approach to China before Democratic President-elect Biden takes office on Jan. 20.

(Reporting by Michelle Nicols and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Cate Cadell in Beijing; Editing by Kim Coghill, Simon Cameron-Moore and Michael Perry)

---

 

US cancels ambassador's controversial trip to Taiwan

 

HUIZHONG WU

Tue, January 12, 2021, 7:44 PM

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The U.S. State Department canceled the planned Taiwan visit by its U.N. ambassador that has drawn strong opposition and a warning from China.

The department announced it was canceling all senior-level overseas travels, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned trip to Belgium, in a decision to assist with the transition to the next administration.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft was due to begin a three-day visit Wednesday, which would have involved meetings with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as well as delivering a speech.

Craft's trip was one of two moves in the twilight days of the Trump administration that increases official exchanges with the self-ruled island while also provoking China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

The U.S. and China have clashed on everything from the origins of the pandemic to Hong Kong. China had already warned the U.S. would pay a “heavy price" in response to the planned visit.

It follows an announcement from Pompeo on Saturday that the U.S. would remove longstanding restrictions on how its diplomats and others have contact with their Taiwanese counterparts.

Under the Trump administration and bipartisan support from Congress, relations with Taiwan has warmed up considerably, with the government increasing the frequency and quality of weapons sales to the island's government. Craft herself had a public lunch with Taiwan’s top official in New York, James K.J. Lee, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, a meeting she called “historic.”

She would have been the third high-level U.S. official to visit Taiwan in recent months. In August last year, U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar became the highest-level U.S. Cabinet official to visit since the U.S. switched formal relations from Taiwan to China in 1979.

Taiwan is a sensitive issue for China’s ruling Communist Party, which considers the self-governing island democracy of 23.6 million people a renegade province that should be brought under its rule.

Under the “One China” policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, it maintains unofficial contacts including a de facto embassy in Taipei, the capital, and supplies military equipment for the island’s defense.

In Beijing, the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office declined to say whether the cancellation of Craft’s visit was a positive sign for China-U.S. relations.

“Our position is very clear. We resolutely oppose all official exchanges between the U.S. side and the Taiwan area, demand the U.S. immediately cease their wrong approach,” spokesperson Zhu Fenglian told reporters at a biweekly news briefing.

An expert said the visit would have also presented a dilemma for the Taiwanese government.

“This is also a headache for Taiwan. If you welcome them in a large way, with high norms, then you are expressing that you are very very close to the Trump administration, and in the eyes of the coming Biden administration, that’s not good for Taiwan," said Yu-Shan Wu from Academia Sinica, a top research institution on the island.

Wu also noted that current policy moves could be reversed, pointing to the historic meeting between former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese leader in 2015. “Back then, although Taiwan and China’s leaders met, this seemed to be a climax, but then the situation was completely reversed.”

In 2016, Taiwan elected independence-leaning Tsai Ing-wen as president, and China broke off contact with the government shortly after.

 

---

 

US ambassador to UN and Taiwan's president meet virtually

Taiwan US Ambassador

In this image made from a video screen shows Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, top, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft meeting virtually on Wednesday night, Jan. 13, 2021. Craft's trip to Taiwan was canceled but Craft told Tsai: “The United States will always stand with Taiwan.” (The United States Mission to the United Nations via AP)

EDITH M. LEDERER

Wed, January 13, 2021, 11:23 PM

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Her trip canceled in the final days of the Trump administration, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft instead met virtually Wednesday night with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and told her: “The United States will always stand with Taiwan.”

And though she'll leave office with the president next week, Craft said she still hopes to visit the self-ruled island soon, calling Taiwan “a beacon and a lodestar” for its science, technology and democracy.

The announcement last week that Craft would visit Taiwan sparked sharp criticism from China's government, which considers Taiwan a renegade province and has stepped up threats to bring the island under its control.

China quickly condemned the virtual meeting, saying, “The United States should understand that the attempt to challenge the one-China principle receives no support and is doomed to fail,” in a statement from a spokesman for China’s Mission to the U.N. on Twitter.

American relations with Taiwan have warmed under President Donald Trump, largely due to strong bipartisan support in Congress, but also because the administration has been willing to defy Beijing’s threats and promote Taiwan as an alternative to Chinese Communist Party authoritarianism.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said Craft's trip would show “what a free China could achieve.” But on Sunday, he canceled all senior-level overseas travels, including his own, to assist with the transition to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

Tsai thanked Craft at the opening of the virtual meeting, which The Associated Press witnessed, “for the staunch support for Taiwan’s international participation and for your efforts to deepening of the Taiwan-U.S. relationship and ... for always speaking up for Taiwan at the most important times.”

“The people of Taiwan have been inspired by your action,” Tsai said. “Moving forward, we will keep pushing for our participation in the United Nations, and U.N. affiliated meetings and events, and I hope that the United States will continue to support our efforts.”

Taiwan left the United Nations in 1971 when China joined, and Beijing has been using its diplomatic clout to stop Taiwan from joining any organizations that require statehood for membership.

Craft called Taiwan “an inspiration for the world,” saying quite a number of U.N. member states — which she didn’t name — “should look at Taiwan, not for opportunities to exclude it, but for reasons to aspire to it.”

“In any context, by the standards of the free world, Taiwan is a model for democracy, equality for women, innovation and scientific exploration, a staunch defender of human rights,” she said.

“The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Taiwan as pillars of democracy,” Craft added.

Tsai said she was looking for Craft’s advice on how to move forward on U.S.-Taiwan relations.

Craft told Tsai she had taught her the importance to “never mistake the present for the determination of the future.”

___

Associated Press writer Huizhong Wu contributed to this report from Taipei, Taiwan.