SYMBOLISM: The ministry defended the nation’s sovereignty and democratic values after a US official said it was not US policy to display the ROC flag on its Web sites
Taipei Times
Date: Feb 17, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with CNA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday reiterated that Taiwan’s status as an
US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton says at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Thursday that the removal of the Republic of China flag from several US government Web sites was in line with Washington’s policy. Photo: Nadia Tsao, Taipei Times
independent, sovereign state is a fact and the “status quo,” after a high-level US Department of State official said the removal of the Republic of China (ROC) flag from several US government Web sites was in line with Washington’s policy.
Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said the government would continue to maintain this “status quo” and defend the nation’s democratic values and way of life.
However, Lee said Taiwan-US ties have progressed significantly over the past years thanks to the US’ Taiwan Relations Act, expressing confidence that bilateral relations would only grow stronger.
Lee made the remarks one day after US Senator Marco Rubio asked Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary at the US Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, if she was aware of the disappearance of the ROC flag from the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Web site last month. [FULL STORY]
