FORMER US NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR STEPHEN YATES VISITS TAIWAN|外傳"川蔡熱線"牽線人 葉望輝來台

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's national security advisor, Stephen Yates, arrived in Taiwan on the morning of Dec. 6. He denied the speculation that he was the one who set up the "presidential hotline" between Taiwan and the U.S. He stated that his trip to Taiwan this time was arranged before the US presidential election. Yates emphasized that the call between the two leaders should not be over-analyzed. Trump was simply accepting a congratulatory call. All policies will not be clear until Trump's inauguration. Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's national security advisor, Stephen Yates, arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 6. It was reported that Yates might be the one who made the call happen between President Tsai Ing-wen and US President-elect Donald Trump. His visit to Taiwan, therefore, came at a sensitive time. Yates clarified that the call was set up by Trump's campaign team and that the media should not over-analyze Trump's remarks. ==STEPHEN YATES, Former White House Official== It remains a small step. We should not over-anaylze or over-react to the fact that your current and our future leader spoke by phone. While it is reasonable for the people of Taiwan to expect friendly relations from the incoming administration, it would not be reasonable to anticipate major changes in US policies at this point. Some people criticized that the call was a diplomatic mistake due to a lack of consideration and that Taiwan was treated as a bargaining chip for future negotiations between the US and China. Yates begged to differ. ==STEPHEN YATES, Former White House Official== It's appropriate to be concerned about things like that. There is nothing that I have heard said publicly or privately by the team that is forming or during the course of the presidential campaign. However, some believed that the call was made after a thorough consideration, reflecting a hardline stance against China and possible normalization of Taiwan-US relations. Trump's move was to indicate that his policies towards China and Asia will be different. ==ALEXANDER HUANG, Graduate Inst. of Int'l Affairs and Strategic Studies, TKU== He intends to shift the US-China relations steered by the new model of China-US relationship proposed by Xi Jinping during the Obama administration. That's what he wants to change. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed a meeting with Yates this coming Friday, Yates did not confirm his meeting with the Ministry nor with President Tsai. He stated that his visit to Taiwan was of personal nature and was arranged before the US presidential election. TRANSLATED BY：LUKE CHIANG