Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/09/26
By: Joseph Yeh
Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) The United States has always been supportive of
Matthew J. Matthews, deputy assistant secretary and U.S. senior official for APEC
Taiwan’s full membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and is making sure its membership will not be compromised, a visiting U.S. official said Tuesday.
“The United States always is supportive of ensuring that Taiwan’s full membership (in APEC) is never impeded, and I think there are many other economies who feel the same way and have the same reaction,” Matthew J. Matthews, deputy assistant secretary and U.S. senior official for APEC, told CNA during an interview in Taipei.
Matthews was asked to comment on a report Tuesday citing Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) as saying that China was attempting to block Taiwan’s participation in the annual 2018 APEC meeting in Papua New Guinea in November.
China has stepped up efforts to suppress Taiwan in the diplomatic sphere by luring away Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and trying to block Taiwan’s participation in international forums, including APEC, Wu charged in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times. [FULL STORY]
