President Trump: Jag kommer att tala med Taiwans ledare; det är ”svårt” för Xi att frige Jimmy Lai | NTD NYHETER

President Trump wrapping up a two-day summit in Beijing and departed for the United States. While the summit was framed around building a strategically stable bilateral relationship and preventing major power competition from spiraling out of control, the two sides still showed clear divisions over core issues, including Taiwan. On the issue drawing the most attention, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Trump delivered a surprising response. He spoke aboard Air Force One on Friday while returning to Washington. I'll make a determination over the next fairly short period. You're not necessarily going to go ahead. It's your proposal. I'm going to make a determination. I have to speak to the person that right now, you know who he is, that's running Taiwan. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly issued a statement in response, thanking President Trump for his continued support for security in the Taiwan Strait since his first term in office. The statement said U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are not only part of Washington's security commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a shared deterrent against regional threats. The ministry added that China's military threats remain the only source of instability in the region. According to an official Chinese statement, Xi Jinping used strong language on the Taiwan issue, warning that mishandling it could lead to conflict between China and the U.S. I don't think there's a conflict, other than we don't need their air straight. We don't need the other. Mr. President, Xi said there was a risk of conflict with the U.S. over Taiwan. I don't think so. I don't think so. I think we're going to be, I think we'll be fine. He doesn't want to see, he doesn't want to see a war. Trump said Xi spoke with him a lot about Taiwan. He does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation. And I heard him out. I didn't make a comment on it. I heard him out. Would the U.S. defend Taiwan if it came to it? I don't want to say. I'm not going to say that. There's only one person that knows that. You know who it is? Me. I'm the only person. That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, I don't talk about those. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday reiterated that U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed in any way. Taiwan's foreign minister later expressed appreciation for the statement. A Taiwanese scholar suggested the United States and China may have reached some level of understanding regarding U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Washington still plans to move forward with a second round of arms sales to Taiwan, but that process could face delays. The White House had previously announced record high arms sales to Taiwan. Meanwhile, critics say human rights issues were largely sidelined during the Trump-Xi meeting. Before visiting Beijing, Trump said he would raise the cases of two political prisoners detained by the government with Xi Jinping. One is former Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai. The other is Pastor Ezra Ching, founder of Beijing's Zion Church. It was once considered one of the largest and most influential underground Christian churches in Beijing. As for Jimmy Lai, who is now 78 years old and serving a 20-year sentence under Hong Kong's national security law, Trump appeared pessimistic about the chances of securing his release. Meanwhile, China's repression is no longer confined within its own borders, but has extended into the United States. According to Freedom House, China accounts for roughly 22 percent of documented cases of transnational repression worldwide, making it the world's largest perpetrator of cross-border persecution. The group says the activity also poses a direct threat to the safety of U.S. citizens. On Wednesday, U.S. citizen Liu Jianwong was found guilty in federal court in Brooklyn for secretly operating a Chinese police station in New York City's Chinatown, and his co-defendant, Xi Jinping, pleaded guilty in 2024. President Trump said tariffs were not discussed with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but added that China is paying massive tariffs. There was also no visible breakthrough on issues including rare-earth co-operation and the sale of NVIDIA chips to China. Regarding freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the United States does not need China's favor.