Taipei Times
Date: Mar 03, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA, Washington

Taiwan-US relations should not be affected by the opinions of China or any other nation, Premier William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.

Lai made the remarks at the Legislative Yuan when asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) to share his view on commentaries that Beijing could step up measures to suppress Taiwan in the international community as a response to the US Senate’s passage of the Taiwan Travel Act on Wednesday.

“The US is a world leader, and Taiwan is a sovereign nation. The exchanges between Taiwan and the US should not rely on the opinions of China or any other nation,” Lai said. “It is unnecessary to worry about China’s unreasonable opinions.”

Asked whether he had made plans to visit Washington, Lai said that he had not, but that it would be “great” if US President Donald Trump signed the act into law to normalize bilateral visits between Taiwanese and US officials — a view echoed by Tseng.
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