U.S. aid to Taiwan awaiting reevaluation under new executive order: envoy

Washington, Feb. 2 (CNA) Taiwan's top representative to the United States said Sunday that Washington is currently reevaluating all of its foreign aid projects, including those related to Taiwan, in accordance with a recent executive order.

"The American executive branch has told the Taiwan representative office that the new government is trying to check whether the foreign aid programs are in consistent with President Donald Trump's government policies," Taiwan's representative to the U.S. Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) told reporters in Washington, D.C.

"This is a suspension, not an elimination or a cancellation [of foreign aid programs], and it does not target any particular country," Yui said on the sidelines of a Lunar New Year event.

The Taiwan and U.S. governments have "a mutual understanding" on the issue, he said, without elaborating.

Yui also declined to comment on the specifics of the suspended U.S. military aid to Taiwan.

In accordance with an executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 20 to reevaluate and realign foreign aid, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), pending review, according to his department.

"Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce was quoted as saying in a statement issued on Jan. 26. "The Secretary is proud to protect America's investment with a deliberate and judicious review of how we spend foreign assistance dollars overseas."

On Jan. 30, Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Appropriations and Foreign Relations Committees, condemned Trump's suspension of almost all U.S. foreign assistance, calling it unconstitutional and harmful to U.S. security and values.

The decision "harms our allies and friends, and benefits adversaries like China," the Democratic senator said.

"It has halted payments to contractors rebuilding Ukraine's electrical infrastructure in the wake of Russian attacks and frozen support that is critical to ensuring Taiwan's defense," Coons was quoted as saying, in a press release issued by his office.