US and Taiwan.....

Two news items today on Taiwan and the US.

The US continues to complain about the stalling on the arms bill. I suspect the KMT has managed to open some eyes even in the notoriously blinkered State Department about its attitude toward Taiwan-US relations. Taiwan News reports:

A senior adviser to the U.S. State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs recently reiterated Washington's concern over the long-stalled arms procurement bill in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan and the minimal increase in the island's defense budget over the past few years.

James Keyth made the reiteration after attending a hearing held by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission under the U.S. Congress Wednesday.

Talking about issues related to Taiwan's arms procurement bill, the adviser said that the island should take actions to deal with the bill as soon as possible.

Keyth noted that the United States is growing increasingly concerned about Taiwan's insufficient investment in the purchase of advanced military equipment, including weapons and command-and-monitoring systems, which he said will affect the island's defensive and deterrence capabilities.

If you guys are so worried about it, why not give Taiwan useful weapons like more missiles and fighters and attack aircraft, rather than hopeless submarines arriving years to late to do any good? The combination of KMT malevolence and US stupidity is harming Taiwan deeply. And here's a true Bushite complaint:

According to Keyth, Taiwan's spending on national defense has only increased slightly over the past few years, while spending on the economy and social welfare has registered double-digit growth during the same period.

What! Let them eat cake, dammit! What's wrong with you people -- spending money on social programs and the economy? Didn't you know you're supposed to ransack the nation rather than try to grow it?

The US House passed a resolution welcoming Chen's visit to the US:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday welcoming President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to the United States for a transit stop ahead of his visit to the island's diplomatic allies in Central America.

The resolution, which was jointly introduced September 8 by four co-chairmen of the Taiwan Caucus in the House of Representatives, including Representatives Steve Chabot, Sherrod Brown, Dana Rohrabacher and Robert Wexler, was first adopted by the House's Committee on International Relations earlier in the day.

Besides offering its "warmest welcome" to President Chen upon his visit to the United States, the House of Representatives also recognizes in the resolution that the president's upcoming visit is "a significant stop toward broadening and deepening the friendship and cooperation between the United States and Taiwan."

Next step: Chen addresses Congress.

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

[Taiwan]