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  • Today. For the first time since Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

  • Beijing retaliated against the United States cutting off dialogue

  • on multiple topics. Nick Schifrin has that story and sits down with

  • Taiwan's most senior official in the US

  • Beijing is foreseen Taiwan to pay the heaviest cost for Pelosi's

  • visit. But today China targeted Washington and announced it would

  • suspend dialogue on climate change with a senior US official characterized

  • as punishing the whole world militarily. It is canceling talks between

  • regional commanders and defense policy officials as well as meetings

  • to discuss operations, which the U. S official Warren could lead

  • to misperceptions and miscalculations. And today, Beijing sanctioned

  • Pelosi and her family.

  • As for Taiwan, China has launched the largest military exercises

  • around the island in 25 years. The Chinese are firing missiles in

  • the blocks that surround the island, some within Taiwan's territorial

  • waters and to discuss this we are joined by the top Taiwanese official

  • in the United States representative became Seattle. Thank you very

  • much. Welcome to the news hour.

  • Thanks for having me. You pushed for this visit given today what

  • we've seen Chinese missiles flying over Taipei Chinese missiles landing

  • inside Taiwanese territorial waters and now up to 1000 Taiwanese

  • products banned by Beijing. Do you think it was worth it?

  • Well, I have to say that the people of Taiwan, um cherish our friends

  • in the international community. We have a very unique perspective

  • on friends visiting us For too long.

  • Taiwan has been bullied and marginalized and isolated from the world

  • banned from international organizations. We don't take our democracy

  • for granted, and we don't take our friends for granted. What about

  • the long term consequences of this visit? It seems like China China

  • is trying to create a kind of new

  • Military status quo. Launching these missiles, disrupting

  • A saline around the island, taking into account Taiwanese territorial

  • waters. Can you or the US do anything to prevent that? Well, what's

  • alarming is obviously China has been preparing, um, for such military

  • build up for a long time way before Speaker Pelosi decided to visit

  • Taiwan.

  • The scope and the range of the current exercises. To demonstrate

  • that this has long been in becoming China's escalation is unreasonable

  • and unnecessary.

  • We think it's important that they understand such engagements between

  • the people of Taiwan and the people around the world are consistent

  • with decades of practice. Um, and there is no reason for them to

  • escalate. Are we worried and concerned? Yes, And that is why we are

  • also committed to investing in our own self defenses in fortifying

  • are symmetric capabilities.

  • Um, in reforming our reserves, in better integrating civilian support

  • in our homeland defenses, But I have to make clear that we don't

  • want war. We want peace. We will do anything we can to deescalate.

  • But we will not surrender our freedom. Those are the very steps.

  • You just listed that the U. S actually has been pushing Taipei to

  • take in terms of how to defend itself militarily, But are you concerned

  • that these exercises by Beijing are a way for them?

  • To practice a blockade, as Beijing has suggested.

  • Well, we cannot control what Beijing does, Although we continue to

  • urge them to work with us to resolve our differences in a peaceful

  • way. The status quo which we are committed to has served the interests

  • of all parties involved for decades, and we call on the People's

  • Republic of China and the Communist Party of China.

  • Um, to exercise restraint.

  • And be reasonable. Are you seeing any restraint or reasonableness?

  • Given that Beijing is saying they're going to operate this weekend

  • inside your territorial waters? Will they, as we speak, are conducting

  • live fire drills around Taiwan and again, we we urge them to act

  • with reason and again remind them, um, that it is up to Beijing to

  • decide.

  • If China's growth and rejuvenation is done with international respect,

  • or with international condemnation. Rejuvenation, of course, is the

  • word that she's jumping himself uses. Let me ask you about something

  • else. President Biden said. Publicly quote the military does not

  • want Pelosi to go. Privately, Administration officials tried to convince

  • Pelosi not to go to Taiwan. Do you disagree?

  • With some of those administration steps. Well, I'm not going to talk

  • about their private conversations. Um, but what I can say is the

  • views from and perspectives from Taiwan and that is we have welcomed

  • congressional delegations to Taiwan for decades, including a former

  • speakers to Taiwan, but it doesn't sound like the White House necessarily

  • feels the same way. Well, I I think, ultimately, um, our friends

  • in the United States understand democracy. They also

  • Understand the sentiments of the people of Taiwan who seek greater

  • international support and also gestures of support. Let me ask you

  • about US policy moving forward. Um congressional officials in the

  • last few days have said publicly at the administration has concerns

  • with the Taiwan Policy Act, which would require $4.5 billion of military

  • aid to Taiwan and designate Taiwan as a major NATO non NATO ally.

  • Do you support legislation and again? Do you disagree with any efforts

  • by the administration?

  • Against that legislation.

  • There are a number of legislative initiatives are we respect the

  • legislative process here in the United States? We haven't talked

  • about any specific aspects of this bill. But we are exploring some

  • very, um meaningful ways in strengthening Taiwan's self defense.

  • That includes, for example, continuing foreign military cells that

  • again is not unprecedented. It has been ongoing over the years. Yesterday,

  • the White House made a rare announcement.

  • About troop deployments and said that the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft

  • carrier, and its associated chips would remain in the area.

  • Uh, east of Taiwan and would also conduct quote standard transits

  • through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks. How important

  • Are those transit and how important is it that those go off that

  • any kind of hitch? Well, I think it's important to assert that the

  • Taiwan Straits, um

  • Ah are high seas and the freedom of navigation. Um, is a very important

  • part of global commerce. It has worked for all of us, including for

  • China's economic development. Beijing has been a bit ambiguous about

  • whether the Taiwan Strait is international waters. Do you fear that

  • Beijing could try and somehow disrupt an American freedom of navigation?

  • Beijing is doing a lot and I'm not going to speak on their intentions

  • or what they plan to do, but I think it's in everyone's interests

  • in the world to make sure we have a rules based international order

  • and the stakeholders in the region should also abide by a rules based

  • international order.

  • Um peace and stability has served everyone's interest and again.

  • We call on the leadership in China to exercise reason and restraint

  • and to recognize the importance of peace and stability in the region.

Today. For the first time since Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

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