美国国务院
发言人办公室
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区（Washington, D.C.）
2020年9 月2 日
[摘译] 国务卿迈克尔·蓬佩奥对新闻记者发表讲话
国务卿蓬佩奥：诸位上午好。很高兴见到大家。
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关于多边领域其他方面的情况，我期待下星期出席一系列网上会议，会见东盟（ASEAN）和印度-太平洋（Indo-Pacific）地区的对等官员。
我们将对范围广泛的问题进行讨论，
涉及COVID冠状病毒疫情、北韩、南中国海（South China Sea）、香港和缅甸若开邦（Rakhine State）等。
我还将提出特朗普政府（Trump administration）如何恢复美中关系对等的问题。今天，我们继续进行这方面的必要工作。
多年来，中国共产党对在中华人民共和国境内工作的美国外交人员制造了巨大的障碍。
具体而言，中国共产党采取一套不透明的批准程序，目的在于阻挠美国外交人员执行例行公事，出席各类活动，安排会议，以及与中国人民联系，特别是在大学校园内和通过报刊和社交媒体进行的工作。
今天，我宣布国务院已建立一项制度，要求在美国的中国高级外交人员访问大学校园和会见当地政府官员需经过批准。中国各使领馆在使团驻地以外主办超过50人的文化活动也需得到我方批准。
此外，我们正采取进一步措施确保中华人民共和国所有使领馆的正式社交媒体账户正确地被识别为政府账户，即中国政府账户。
今天，我部负责东亚-太平洋事务的助理国务卿（Assistant Secretary of East Asia-Pacific Affairs）史达伟（David Stilwell）也在场。他将回答一些提问。
我们仅要求对等。我国外交人员在中国的活动权限应该与中国外交人员在美国的活动权限相对应。今天的措施将使我们朝这个方向迈出一大步。
关于中国的其他问题。
最近，副国务卿克拉奇（Krach）向美国各大学的管理委员会发函，提醒他们注意中国共产党对学术自由、人权和大学捐赠活动构成的威胁。
这些威胁可以采取各种形式，例如对研究工作的违规资助、盗窃知识产权、恐吓外国学生及不透明的人才招聘活动。
大学管理委员会可以通过采取几个关键步骤，帮助确保他们机构拥有干净的投资和干净的捐赠基金：
将中华人民共和国所有公司在捐赠基金中的投资公开，特别是那些在新兴市场指数基金中的投资。
断绝被列入商务部（Commerce Department）实体名单（Commerce Department Entity List）的中国公司的投资，这些公司助长践踏人权，军事胁迫和其他违规行为。
理解总统金融市场工作组（President’s Working Group on Financial Markets）发布的建议，该工作组审视了在美国股票市场上市的中国公司对投资者的风险。
继续专注中国，但转向边界以外：
我们希望印度-中国边境局势得到和平解决。从台湾海峡（Taiwan Strait），到喜马拉雅山（the Himalayas）以及更远的地方，中国共产党在采取一个明显和不断加剧的霸凌邻国的模式。
霸凌行为也明显表现在南中国海。上周，美国针对对中国共产党在那里的帝国主义行径负有责任的中国个人和实体实行了制裁和签证限制，那些行径包括进行非法的能源监视，在我们的盟国菲律宾和其他国家的经济区内从事活动。
我们也继续关注——我们以前谈到过这点——在加拉帕戈斯（the Galapagos）附近的300多艘挂中国旗的船只的活动，他们几乎肯定是在从事非法捕捞。
鉴于这种海上胡作非为，毫不奇怪，在国际海洋法法庭（International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea）上周的选举中，北京候选人得到的弃权票比其他任何候选人都多。
中国是最明目张胆践踏《联合国海洋法公约》（Law of the Sea Convention）的国家，全世界的国家都对此表示不满。
我们也对中国在西藏的行动感到不安，总书记最近提出要“汉化”藏传佛教和同那里的“分裂主义”作斗争。我们继续呼吁北京与达赖喇嘛或他的代表进行不预设条件的对话，以便达成一个解决分歧的方案。
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问：谢谢你。美国政府关于中国的年度报告——关于中国军事的报告——昨天发布了。
国务卿蓬佩奥：是的，昨天。
问：它说中国意图在今后10年内将其核弹头增加一倍，并增加其全球及海军部署。你认为美国及其盟国应当作何反应，还有你认为中国军队最令人警觉的趋势是什么？
国务卿蓬佩奥：昨天那份报告中的内容对于任何一个过去几年来一直在关注这个问题的人都并非新闻。本届政府是第一个真正指明中国共产党的军事挑衅的，及其采取的这种集结，然后当然是予以应对。
我们做了几项工作。首先，总统向国会（Congress）提交了美国有史以来规模最大的国防预算，而且国会已经通过，7,000多亿美元连续两年，因此，我们正在确保美国拥有应对任何威胁的手段，包括应对中国共产党构成的威胁。
其次，这方面的具体内容——我给你们举例说明。核武器。我们已恳请中方参与我们的战略对话。我们已说明这符合他们的最佳战略利益；这符合我们的最佳战略——降低来自这些最危险的武器系统的风险符合全世界的战略利益。我们正在同俄罗斯方面展开有成效的对话，就这个非常——如果中国共产党严肃看待在全球舞台上进行参与并成为这个共同体中的一个有规模和分量的国家，那么它就有一种义务。当你使用这种导弹试验来建立一个核武库时——去年在中国的导弹试验我认为比所有西方国家的总和还多——如果你将严肃对待，你就必须以一种同各国如何根据核扩散问题条约履行它们的义务相符的方式来加以使用，所有那些义务——成文的，不成文的，已签署的，以及没有签署的——然后它们应当加入这些战略对话，同时我们希望确保使用那些特定的武器系统的风险得到降低。我们随时准备让他们加入同俄罗斯方面的这一对话。我希望他们将会这样做。
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问：……如果印度-中国边境，即实际控制线的局势升级，美国对那里的事态持什么立场？还有人说——中国外长已发表声明说，美国扮演的角色及西藏问题的由来，是西藏问题的原因。你对此作何反应？
助理国务卿史达伟：对于喜马拉雅（Himalayas）地区发生的冲突，和所有的问题一样，特别是关系到中华人民共和国与其邻国持有的不同看法，我们主张他们恢复对话，和平解决这些问题，不进行胁迫，不诉诸武力。这一点适用于中国周边目前正在发生的很多冲突。你谈到西藏。新疆——仍然十分关注他们在那里的所作所为。香港的活动、南中国海（South China Sea）——我可以再继续举出很多事例。根据自武汉爆发冠状病毒疫情以来我们的所见所闻，中华人民共和国似乎正力图利用这种局势。印度，我认为是其中的一个事例。所以，对于我们在北京的朋友，我要求他们履行自己的诺言，通过和平的方式和对话解决这些问题。
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问：……你能否谈谈你为什么认为国务卿宣布的这项行动是必要的？如你所知，作为一名前军人，军人的退休基金也有中国公司参与其中。你是否能够谈谈这方面的情况。另外，刚才你谈到台湾，对于自由贸易协定和有关的谈判，国务院是否得到支持？最近台湾放松了对进口牛肉和猪肉的限制。我们能不能说，对这些谈判存在某些内部的反对意见，可能来自这个大楼之外？
助理国务卿史达伟：很好的问题。关于台湾的问题，特别是涉及贸易的方面，我很荣幸地尊重美国贸易代表（USTR）对这个问题的看法。但是，我们的确宣布，副国务卿克拉奇（Krach）将开始与台湾进行经济对话，对这些领域进行考察。众所周知，我们支持台积电（TSMC）芯片制造公司进驻亚利桑那州（Arizona），或者说我们正朝这个方向努力，这对美国和台湾都是大好消息。所以，对于这个新情况，我们正处于早期阶段，但是蔡总统撤销这些最后的限制之一是十分受欢迎的决策。
关于“节俭储蓄计划”（TSP），你听到国务卿谈到这一点，基斯·克拉奇（Keith Krach）给各大学的信件也再次谈到，需要更好地了解你的钱去向如何，你的捐赠基金如何供款，认识到这些问题都必须做到透明。你们都知道，中国公司在美国的投资并不受其他任何公司必须遵守的同样的审计限制。然后，当我们告诉中方他们自己也必须遵守这些要求的时候，他们抱怨他们受到某些不公平的待遇。所以让我们，正如他们所说，尊重事实——实事求是。让我们澄清所有这一切，言论必须符合事实。
最后，关于国务卿刚才宣布的对等的问题，这并不是一个新问题。你们记得，自去年10月以来，我们始终要求这样做。我们要求中国外交人员报备他们前往所有这些地方的情况，诸如会见州长、市长、学校董事会等，还有其他有关的所有情况，让我们知道他们在做些什么。我们这样做的目的不是为了损害关系，相互间的交往，而是让他们认识到，我们将坚持要求双方的关系恢复平衡，因为目前的情况完全不平衡。对我来说，平衡等同于稳定，双方关系不稳定使我们大家都感到担忧。我们正采取措施使之得到改正。
谢谢。
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问：……所以，如你所知，每逢美国实施制裁或采取某些新的限制，中国往往针锋相对采取行动。这一次你估计会发生什么情况，你能否为我们提供一点看法，这会导致什么情况？你们是否已经开始准备在9月20日以后采取特别严厉的制裁行动，因为他们已经明确表示他们不会同意对伊朗实施联合国的制裁？
助理国务卿史达伟：我先谈谈估计中华人民共和国会做出的反应。我依靠你们大家——我的意思是，我指的是真心实意地——帮助人们认识到，我们仅希望平衡双方的关系，他们的所作所为则完全不相称。所以，我们已经看到——我们已经看到两方面的情况。我们有时看到，他们认识到这早该如此，并没有做出反应。他们最近采取一些十分令人遗憾的行动，特别是涉及媒体的问题，而且他们继续在中华人民共和国对媒体这样做，特别是对这些了解到发生什么情况的记者，对这些有语言能力的人，以及对问题进行调查的人员，而他们并不愿意——宁可让全世界都蒙在鼓里。纽约时报（New York Times）和布隆伯格（Bloomberg）因刊登有关精英财富的报道遇到很大的麻烦，当年，2011年、2012年的时候我正在那里外驻。前不久华尔街日报（Wall Street Journal）刊登以“Sick Man of Asia”（东亚病夫）为题的署名文章，为此他们驱逐了两名美国人和一名澳大利亚人。
所以，如果对等的问题引起关注——对他们来说，“reciprocal”（对等）或者“retaliation”（报复），这是一个更好的词——让我们确定我们对实际情况进行十分清晰的描述——他们正在做些什么，真正的平衡是什么样的。在这里，中国有150名或更多的外交人员——为宣传部工作的中国国营媒体人员在美国开展业务不受任何限制，但目前只有很一小部分美国记者留在中国。我们需要公布这些情况，使大家都能认识到我们谈到的问题。
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问：谢谢。你能否谈谈中国限制出口人工智能可能产生的影响，及其对可能的TikTok美国业务的出售的不良影响？
还有，你对关于在整个香港将会增加冠状病毒（COVID）检测的宣布感到关切吗？在活动人士中间显然有认为这将被用于收集DNA的关切。
助理国务卿史达伟：关于你的第二个问题，我无法说明在香港的意图是什么。我已注意到在香港的人们——他们表示关切，正如你们可以想见的。你的两个问题相互关联，因为它们都关系到信息以及中国的信息收集。不过，为做一个类比，我想让你们回顾在所谓的职业培训中心出现以前——维吾尔人拘押营——曾有过大规模基因检测，它是大规模的——它被说成是对维吾尔人的健康检查。因此，他们当时假借进行健康检查之名来收集维吾尔人的DNA。所以这个——鉴于这个实例，我认为香港人民理当关切。
至于TikTok和人工智能，我不是技术专家，但我确知信息就是新货币。它就像石油。它是每个人都能使用并需要的，凡此种种，但在一个确是在法治之下运转的国家，我认为人民可以信赖他们的信息将被用于好事，而不是邪恶后果。中华人民共和国没有这种声誉。我们知道他们是如何使用信息的。他们用它来针对个人。我认为这是任何人所见过的最巨大的国家安全机器。任何去过那里的人，每个街角，不只有一个摄像头，每个街角大概有8个。而且我们知道使用了脸部识别，所有那些东西都能影响你的社会信用评分，影响你就业或让你的子女入学的能力。因此，我认为香港人民理所当然地会感到关切。
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问：我能就此继续提问吗？只想试着具体问及TikTok，我知道你只能说这么多，但正如Kim提到的，中方在周末改变了出口规则，而且这似乎可能阻止向一家美国公司的出售。你是否相信中方试图或你是否相信这将阻止向一家美国公司的出售，因为新的规则实际上要求字节跳动（ByteDance）这家母公司必须首先寻求获得批准？
助理国务卿史达伟：我认为这里有两种势力在产生作用。显然，中国意欲阻止美国保护自己，通过确保这种软件的操作——我的意思是，我们不是最早的——记住，印度率先这么做——我认为目前有超过60个——应用程序出于正当的原因在印度不能使用。我还要指出具有讽刺意味的是，外交部发言人在推特（Twitter）上说，在我们自己的推特上说，美国禁用应用程序，在美国禁用中国应用程序是完全出格的。
但所有这些都是为说明——我重申我无法谈及具体细节，但这里有一个我们都必须应对的经济对安全的平衡，允许这次出售将让利润等等继续下去，而阻止这次出售——显然存在金融损失，但——对中国方面而言，希望那应会给他们的决定泼凉水。
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问：回到台湾提议的前景问题上，如果本届政府将就此向前推进，你预期中国政权会对此做出何种强烈反应？
助理国务卿史达伟：好的，有关中国的反应的第二个问题——这都在于北京的决策矩阵，但我们的职责显然是全面考虑那会是什么并预见到这些。如果你们看看三项公报和《台湾关系法》（Taiwan Relations Act）的内容，我们本周早些时候所宣布的事项，经济关系、文化交流，所有这些事项都是完全得到允许的。没有任何一条禁止这些事项。因此他们应当——不应当有任何报复。为增进两国繁荣所做的努力不应该有任何影响。
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阅读原文： https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/secretary-pompeo-at-a-press-availability-09022020/

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
For Immediate Release
 REMARKS TO THE PRESS
September 2, 2020
 
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo
At a Press Availability
September 2, 2020
Press Briefing Room
Washington, D.C.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good morning, everyone.  Good to see you all.
I want to start today talking about multilateralism.  The Trump administration wants multilateral institutions to function, to actually work.  But multilateralism just for the sake of it, just to get together in a room and chat, doesn’t add value.
That brings me to the International Criminal Court, a thoroughly broken and corrupted institution.  The United States has never ratified the Rome Statute that created the court, and we will not tolerate its illegitimate attempts to subject Americans to its jurisdiction.
In June, the Trump administration authorized the imposition of economic sanctions against foreign persons directly engaged in ICC efforts to investigate U.S. or allied personnel, and those who materially assisted in those – in that effort.
Today we take the next step, because the ICC continues to target Americans, sadly.
Pursuant to Executive Order 13928, the United States will designate ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and the ICC’s Head of Jurisdiction, Complementary, and Cooperation Division Phakiso Mochochoko for having materially assisted Prosecutor Bensouda.
Individuals and entities that continue to materially support those individuals risk exposure to sanctions as well.
Additionally, the State Department has restricted the issuance of visas for certain individuals involved in the ICC’s efforts to investigate U.S. personnel.
On the multilateral front further, I look forward to seeing my ASEAN and Indo-Pacific counterparts next week at a host of virtual meetings.
We’ll have discussions that will be wide-ranging, including on COVID, North Korea, South China Sea, Hong Kong, and Burma’s Rakhine State.
I’ll also raise how the Trump administration is restoring reciprocity to the U.S.-China relationship.  And today we continue that necessary work.
For years, the Chinese Communist Party has imposed significant barriers on American diplomats working inside the PRC.
Specifically, the Chinese Communist Party has implemented a system of opaque approval processes, designed to prevent American diplomats from conducting regular business, attending events, securing meetings, and connecting with the Chinese people, especially on university campuses and via the press and social media.
Today I’m announcing the State Department has established a mechanism requiring approval for senior Chinese diplomats in the United States to visit university campuses and to meet with local government officials.  Cultural events with groups larger than 50 people hosted by the Chinese embassy and consular posts outside our mission properties will also require our approval.
Additionally, we’re taking further steps to ensure that all official PRC embassy and consular social media accounts are properly identified as government accounts, Chinese Government accounts.
I have David Stilwell, our Assistant Secretary of East Asia-Pacific Affairs, with me today.  He’ll take questions. 
We’re simply demanding reciprocity.  Access for our diplomats in China should be reflective of the access that Chinese diplomats in the United States have, and today’s steps will move us substantially in that direction.
Further on China:
Under Secretary Krach sent a letter recently to the governing boards of American universities, altering them to the threats the Chinese Communist Party poses to academic freedom, to human rights, and to university endowments.
These threats can come in the form of illicit funding for research, intellectual property theft, intimidation of foreign students, and opaque talent recruitment efforts.
University governing boards can help ensure their institutions have clean investments and clean endowment funds by taking a few key steps:
Disclose all PRC companies invested in endowment funds, especially those in emerging-market index funds.
Divest from Chinese companies on the Commerce Department Entity List that are contributing to human rights violations, military coercion, and other abuses.
And simply understand the recommendations issued by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, which examined the risk to investors of Chinese companies that are listed on U.S. stock exchanges.
Staying on China, but moving beyond our borders:
We’re hoping for a peaceful resolution to the situation on the India-China border.  From the Taiwan Strait, to the Himalayas, and beyond, the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in a clear and intensifying pattern of bullying its neighbors. 
That bullying is also evident in the South China Sea.  Last week, the United States imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on Chinese individuals and entities responsible for the CCP’s imperialism there, doing things such as unlawful energy surveillance, activities in the economic zones of our ally the Philippines and other countries. 
We also remain concerned – we’ve talked about this before – the activities of more than 300 Chinese-flagged vessels near the Galapagos, which are almost certainly engaged in illegal fishing. 
In light of this maritime lawlessness, it’s no surprise that Beijing’s candidate in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea election last week received more abstentions than any other candidate.
China is the most flagrant violator of the Law of the Sea Convention, and nations all across the world are registering their disapproval.
We’re also concerned about Chinese actions in Tibet, in light of the general secretary’s recent calls to “Sinicize” Tibetan Buddhism and fight “splittism” there.  We continue to call upon Beijing to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions, to reach a settlement that resolves their differences.
We’re also tracking the situation in Belarus closely.  Deputy Secretary Biegun traveled there last week at my direction.  Belarusians deserve the right to choose their own leaders through a truly free and fair election under independent observation.
We demand an immediate end to the violence against them and the release of all who are unjustly detained, and that includes U.S. citizen Vitali Shkliarov. 
We’re closely coordinating, too, with our transatlantic partners, and are together reviewing significant, targeted sanctions on anyone involved in human rights abuses and repression.
Turning to the Middle East, where I just got back from a productive trip and where we have senior officials there today:
The region is changing rapidly thanks to President Trump’s leadership building up ties between Israel and its neighbors.  The Abraham Accords are clear proof of just that. 
So is the first-ever direct flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi, which took place this week, and the first direct flight between Israel and Sudan, which I was honored to make during my trip.
Additionally, at every stop, I urged my counterparts to stand united against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s threats the region.
Which leads to my next point:
Forty years ago – forty years ago this month, the Iranian regime arrested nine members of the Baha’i National Spiritual Assembly of Iran.  No one has heard from them since.
Sadly, we must conclude that these nine individuals met the same fate as the more than 200 other Iranian Baha’is who have been executed for peacefully practicing their faith.
We ask the international community:  When will Iran’s regime be held accountable for those crimes?
In Africa, we welcome the news that Sudan’s civilian-led transitional government initiated a historic peace agreement with several opposition groups.  That’s good news.  They suggested to me when I was visiting them that would likely occur.  Good on them.
And here close at home in the Western Hemisphere, the United States candidate Mauricio Claver-Carone is the right person for the presidency of the International[1] Development Bank. The vote, currently scheduled for September 12th, should not be delayed.  It should happen that day.
And on Venezuela, 34 countries have no\ joined the growing list – the growing international consensus in favor of a transitional government.  More and more nations know that the fraudulent National Assembly elections scheduled for – scheduled by Maduro for December 6th of this year will neither be fair nor free.
We also call on free and fair elections in Haiti as soon as technically feasible.
And with that, I’m happy to take a handful of questions today.
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay.  Let’s start with Vivian.
QUESTION:  Yeah, great.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Hi.
QUESTION:  Hi.  I wanted to ask you about your decision to address the RNC from Jerusalem.  There was guidelines sent to State Department staff advising against participation in any partisan politics.  And so what message does that send to the men and women of the State Department?  Also, obviously the House Foreign Affairs Committee has raised this issue as part of its complaint against you.  And so if you can address all those issues, please.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  All I can say in my role of Secretary of State – I did this in my personal capacity.  All I can say in my role as Secretary of State is the State Department reviewed this, it was lawful, and I personally felt it was important that the world hear the message of what this administration has accomplished.
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay.  Christine.
QUESTION:  Thank you.  The yearly U.S. Government China report – military China report came out yesterday.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yes, yesterday.
QUESTION:  It says that China intends to double its nuclear warheads in the next 10 years and grow its global and naval presence.  How do you think the U.S. and its allies should respond, and what do you think is the most alarming trend of China’s military?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  So what was in that report yesterday doesn’t come as news to anyone who has been following this issue for the past years.  This administration is the first one that has truly called out the Chinese Communist Party for this military aggression, this build-up that has undertaken, and then of course responded to it.
We’ve done a number of things.  First, the President has put the largest defense budgets in American history in front of Congress and they’ve passed it, 700-and-plus billion dollars two years running, so we’re making sure that America has the tools it needs to respond to any threat, including threats that emanate from the Chinese Communist Party. 
Second, on particular pieces of this – I’ll give you an example.   The nuclear weapons.  We have implored the Chinese to be part of our strategic dialogue.  We’ve suggested it’s in their best strategic interest; it’s in our best strategic – it’s in the world’s strategic interest to reduce the risk from these most dangerous weapons systems.  And we’re in productive conversations with the Russians on this very – if the Chinese Communist Party is serious about participating on the global stage and being a nation of size and scale that is part of this community, then it has an obligation.  When you build out a nuclear arsenal with the kind of missile testing – more missile tests in China last year than I think all Western nations combined – if you’re going to be serious, you have to use those in a way that is consistent with how nations undertake their obligations under the nuclear proliferation treaties, all those obligations – written, unwritten, signed, and unsigned – and then they should enter in these strategic conversations, while we want to make sure that the risk of using those weapons systems in particular is diminished.  And we stand ready to have them join this conversation with the Russians.  I hope that they will.
MS ORTAGUS:  Nadia.
QUESTION:  Good morning, Mr. Secretary.  A deputy to President Erdogan just said that Washington partial lifting of arms sale to Cyprus will agitate the conflict in the eastern of the Mediterranean.  How do you respond to that?  And how do you assess Turkey’s influence in the Middle East?  And on Lebanon, sir, if I can, the French president just wrapped a visit to Beirut.  He met with all political leaders, yet we have Assistant Secretary David Schenker in Beirut and he did not meet with any political leaders.  Is this a message?  And are you coordinating with the French on any initiative?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  So as for Lebanon, we are certainly in close conversations with the French.  We share the same objective.  Ambassador Hale was in Beirut several weeks back now.  He met with a number of political leaders.  The objective is the same.  Business as usual in Lebanon just is unacceptable.  I think President Macron said the same thing.  This has to be a government that conducts significant reforms, real change.  It’s what the people of Lebanon are demanding.  And the United States is going to use its diplomatic presence and its diplomatic capabilities to make sure that we get that outcome.  I think the French share that.  I think the whole world, frankly, sees the risk.
Look, the risk stares you in the face: missile systems, precision-guided missiles that Hizballah holds in the south – we all remember the history of Lebanon.  Everybody disarms but Hizballah.  This is the challenge that is presented.  And so those people who are either part of that or are playing footsie with Hizballah should know that that’s not productive.  It’s not what the people of Lebanon want and it’s not what the regional security situation demands.  So I’m confident that the United States, the French, and all of us who are working there on the ground, both to meet the immediate needs in the result that flowed from the explosion that took place now several weeks back as well as the longer-term challenges that are presenting in Lebanon.  We’ll all work on it together.
QUESTION:  And on Turkey?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  You asked – you asked about the decision we made yesterday or announced yesterday with respect to Cyprus.  It’s been a long time coming.  We’ve been working on this for an awfully long time.  We know that this decision was announced in light of heightened tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, but we thought it was the right thing, and so I made the decision we would move forward with it on the timeline that our decision was reached.  President Trump’s been in conversations with President Erdogan.  He’s spoken to the prime minister in Greece.  We are urging everyone to stand down, to reduce tensions, and begin to have diplomatic discussions about the conflicts that exist there in the Eastern Mediterranean – the security conflicts, the energy resource conflicts, the maritime conflicts.  They need to sit down and have conversations about this and resolve this diplomatically.  It is not useful to increase military tension in the region.  Only negative things can flow from that.
QUESTION:  Thank you, sir.
MS ORTAGUS:  Sir, should we try to take more?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  I’ll take a couple more.
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay, go ahead.
QUESTION:  Thanks, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Hi.
QUESTION:  How do you justify the U.S. not joining the WHO-led COVAX effort to provide a vaccine globally when more than 170 other countries have joined?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  There is no nation that has been or will be as deeply committed to delivering vaccines all around the world as the United States of America, not just in terms of dollars.  We will dwarf every nation in terms of the financial resources, the goodness of the American people, to give our money to make sure that these vaccines are delivered all around.  No nation will match us; it won’t even be close.
But it also imperative that when we do that, we need to do so in a way that’s effective, that’s not political, that is science-based.  And what we have seen demonstrated from the World Health Organization is that it is not that.
MS ORTAGUS:  Jose.
QUESTION:  Yes.  It’s a question on Mexico.  U.S. energy groups have written letters to you and other senior administration expressing concerns about developments in the energy sector in Mexico.  They complain about the lack of legal certainty, investors’ rights for U.S. companies in Mexico taken – by actions taken by the Mexican Government.  What is the Trump administration willing to do to defend U.S. interests in Mexico in the energy sector, and has this been risen to the presidential level?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah, most importantly – I’m familiar with this issue – we want American companies to have the opportunity to invest down in Mexico.  It’s what the USMCA was designed to achieve.  We think there’s been real progress there.  But make no mistake:  We’ve been clear this isn’t about – you talked about what we’d do to defend American interests down there – this is in Mexico’s best interest.  It’s in Mexico’s best interest to have American investment, the technology that is brought to develop Mexican energy resources to benefit the people of Mexico.  And so we’re in constant conversations with the Mexican Government about this, certainly at every level of the United States Government.  It’s important.  We think this cooperative set of agreements that was reached between the United States, Canada, and Mexico can deliver on those outcomes in a way that NAFTA never could, and so we’ll continue to work on that challenge. 
QUESTION:  Thank you.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you all.  Have a wonderful day. 
MS ORTAGUS:  We’ll keep Stilwell here for anyone who’d like to stay.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, David.
QUESTION:  I appreciate it.
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay.  Let’s try to get to everybody that hasn’t gone yet.  Reena, I don’t think you have.
QUESTION:  Yeah.  Okay.  To talk about the – if there’s an escalation at the Indian-Chinese border, the LAC, where does the United States stand there?  And it also says – the Chinese foreign ministry has come up with a statement saying that the U.S. role and cause for Tibet is the cause for Tibet.  How do you respond to that?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  For the conflict in the Himalayas, like all things, especially related to the PRC’s differences of opinion with its neighbors, is we advise them to return to dialogue, resolve these things peacefully without coercion, use of force.  That applies to the many conflicts that are going on in China’s periphery right now.  You mentioned Tibet.  Xinjiang – very concerned still about what they’re doing there.  Hong Kong activities, South China Sea – I could go on and on.  What we’ve seen since the corona outbreak from Wuhan is it seems the PRC is trying to take advantage of the situation, and India, I think, is one of those examples of that.  So to our friends in Beijing, I would ask them to follow their commitment to resolve these things through peaceful means and dialogue. 
QUESTION:  Just a follow up.  In case there’s an escalation, will the U.S. share intelligence with India?  Will they assist India?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  We’ll defer that question to others who are more closely related to the Indian part.
MS ORTAGUS:  Nick, go ahead.
QUESTION:  Hey, thanks for doing this.  Since we have you, can you just explain why you think this move that the Secretary announced is necessary?  And as you know, as a former military man, there are servicemembers’ pensions that also have Chinese companies in them, and if you could address that.  And then just while we have you, on Taiwan, is there support from the Department of State on a free trade agreement and those talks?  And did Taiwan’s recent easing of beef and pork imports ease, shall we say, some internal opposition, maybe outside this building, to those talks?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  Great questions.  On the Taiwan question, especially on the trade aspect, I will gladly defer to USTR on that one.  However, we did announce, though, that Under Secretary Krach would begin a economic dialogue with the – with Taiwan to look for those areas.  As you saw, we moved the TSMC chip manufacturing into Arizona, or we’re moving in that direction, which is great news both for the U.S. and for Taiwan.  So we’re early on in this new position, but it’s a very welcome decision out of President Tsai to remove one of those last obstacles.
As far as TSP, you heard the Secretary mention, again, in a letter from Keith Krach to universities, to better understand what your money is going into, where your endowments are being funded, and understand about the need for transparency on those things.  As you know, Chinese companies investing in the U.S. are not subject to the same audit restrictions that any other company, and then when we tell the Chinese that they do need to submit themselves, subject themselves to those requirements, they complain they’re being treated unfairly somehow.  And so let’s, as they say, make truth – seek truth through facts.  Let’s clarify all this and make the words and the reality match.
Finally, on the announcement the Secretary just made about reciprocity, this is not new.  We’ve been doing this since last October, as you remember.  We asked the Chinese diplomats to notify us about their travels to all of these locations to see governors, mayors, school boards, all these other things that we know they’re doing.  And we did that in an effort not to reduce the relationship, the interaction, but to get them to understand that we are going to insist on getting this relationship back in balance, because it is clearly way out of balance.  And balance, to me, equates to stability, and that the instability in this relationship causes all of us concern.  We’re taking steps to fix that.  Thanks. 
MS ORTAGUS:  Carol.
QUESTION:  Sir, thank you for being here to answer our questions.  So, as you know, the Chinese pretty much always respond in kind whenever the U.S. places sanctions or some sort of new restrictions.  So what are you anticipating this time and can you give us a sense where this is all leading?  And are you already starting to prepare some particularly stiff sanctions to be enforced after September 20th, since they’ve made it clear they will not go along with UN sanctions on Iran? 
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  Let me talk to the anticipated PRC response.  I depend on you all – I mean, I mean that sincerely – to help people understand that what they’re doing is grossly out of proportion to our simple desire to balance this relationship.  And so we have seen – we’ve seen both.  We’ve seen sometimes where they have understood that this was long overdue and there’s been no response.  And especially in terms of media, they have taken some very unfortunate steps of late, and they continue to do things to media in the PRC, especially those reporters who understand what’s going on, those with language skills, and those who investigate issues they would rather not – the world not know.  Finances of elites got New York Times and Bloomberg in big trouble when I was out there in 2011, 2012.  Most recently, The Wall Street Journal published a very balanced op-ed that was titled “Sick Man of Asia,” and that – they bounced two Americans and an Australian for that.
And so if there’s concerns about reciprocal – what they call “reciprocal,” or “retaliation” is a better word – let’s make sure we paint a very clear picture of what is – what they’re doing, what that real balance looks like.  There’s 150 or more Chinese diplomats here – Chinese state media folks who work for the ministry of propaganda here in the U.S. operating without restriction, and there’s only a handful of American journalists left in China right now.  Let’s paint that picture so everybody understands what we’re talking about.
MS ORTAGUS:  Kim, go ahead.
QUESTION:  Thanks.  Can you comment on the possible impact of China blocking the export of artificial intelligence and its fallout with the possible sale of the American branch of TikTok?
And also are you concerned about the announcement that there are going to be increased COVID tests throughout Hong Kong?  Apparently there is concern among activists that this will be used for DNA collection.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  To your second question, I can’t speak to what the intentions are in Hong Kong.  I have noted folks in Hong Kong are – they have concerns, as you would imagine.  Both of your questions are related because they deal with information and China’s collection of that.  For an analog, though, I would point you back to before we had the so-called vocational training centers – the Uyghur internment camps – we had mass genetic testing, and it was massed – it was portrayed as health checks for Uyghurs.  And so they were collecting DNA on Uyghurs under the guise of doing health checks.  So the – given that example, I think the Hong Kong people are rightly concerned.
And then as far as the TikTok and AI, I’m not an expert on tech, but I do know that information is the new currency.  It’s like oil.  It’s something everybody can use and needs and all that, but in a country that does run under the auspice of rule of law, I think people can trust that their information will be used for good things and not for nefarious outcomes.  The PRC doesn’t have that reputation.  We know what they do with information.  They target individuals with it.  I think it’s the greatest state security apparatus anybody’s ever seen.  Anybody who’s been there, every street corner, not just one camera, it’s got like eight on every corner.  And so we know that we use facial recognition, all those things to affect your social credit score, to affect your ability to get a job or put your kids into school.  So I think the Hong Kong people are rightfully concerned.
MS ORTAGUS:  Anybody else?  Nick?
QUESTION:  Can I just follow up on that?  So just to try and get to TikTok specifically, I know that there’s only so much you can say, but as Kim mentioned, the Chinese changed the export rules over the weekend and it seems that may stop a sale to a U.S. company.  Do you believe that the Chinese are trying or do you believe it will stop a sale to a U.S. company in the sense that the new rules essentially require ByteDance, the parent company, to seek approval first?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  I think there’s two forces at play here.  Obviously, the Chinese desire to prevent the U.S. from protecting itself by making sure that this software operates – I mean, we’re not the first ones – remember, India led off with this with – and I think there are over 60 right now – apps that are not available for use in India for the right reasons.  I will point to the irony, though, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson using Twitter to say it’s completely out of bounds for the U.S. to block apps, Chinese apps in the U.S. on our own Twitter accounts. 
But all that is to note that – again, I can’t speak to the exact details, but there’s an economic versus security balance here that we all have to deal with, and allowing this sale would allow the profits and all that to continue, whereas blocking this sale – obviously there’s a financial loss, but a – for the Chinese, that should hopefully dampen their decision.
MS ORTAGUS:  I’m going to attempt to try the dial-in, see if it’s working this week.  We have Charlotte Cuthbertson from Epoch Times.  Is our dial-in working?  Charlotte?
QUESTION:  Thank you very much for doing this call.
MS ORTAGUS:  Great.
QUESTION:  Just to go back to the potential of the Taiwan deal, if the administration were to move forward with that, what kind of backlash would you anticipate from the Chinese regime on that?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  Yeah, second question about Chinese response – that’s all about Beijing’s decision matrix, but our job is to obviously think through what those are and anticipate them.  And if you look at the language from the three communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, the announcement we made earlier this week, the economic relationship, cultural exchanges, all those things are fully allowed.  There’s nothing that prohibits those things.  And so they should – there should be no lash back.  The efforts to increase prosperity between the two countries should have no effect.
QUESTION:  (Inaudible) Kim.  I’m from the JTBC South Korea TV news channel.  Let me ask you about North Korean issue.  So you – State Department issued an industry advisory on North Korea ballistic missile procurement yesterday.  I’d like to know the background of it.  Have you find any specific signals, such as North Korea trying to export their techniques, or is it just a warning before – it’s a warning?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  I can comment broadly on North Korea.  I kind of xleave that to the special representative, Steve Biegun, and Alex Wong.  You can definitely pose the questions if you want specifics on that, but I would note that this administration has done more – like, my first tour as a military guy in Korea was in 1981.  I’ve been involved in this for quite a long time.  And this administration has gone far further than any other in taking strong actions to let North Korea know that they’re going to have to negotiate.  They can’t just sit back and threaten and launch and all the things they’ve been doing.  And so this is another step in that direction, is to demonstrate to North Korea that there is a brighter future for your people, but you’re going to have to step up and negotiate and talk about these things rather than remain isolated.  Thank you.
MS ORTAGUS:  We’re going to try the phone line one more time.  We should have Sangmin Lee from Radio Free Asia.  Sangmin, you on the phone?
QUESTION:  Yeah, I have a question about the cyber security threat from North Korea.  Several days ago, the U.S. Government issued several advisory against the North Korean cyber threat.  So how do you assess the North Korean cyber threat in the way?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY STILWELL:  I think we all remember the Sony Pictures hack from 2014.  That was Operation Deny Christmas for me and my family.  (Laughter.)  We spent every day thinking through that one.  It is a clear threat.  As you know, a lot of those cyber actors are operating in other places in a dispersed manner.  Getting at this is going to be difficult.  We’re – again, I’ll defer to the folks in Homeland Security and who deal with cyber threats specifically, but again, there’s strong evidence that they do operate in that regard.  And the goal, I find, is to get currency, is to get funding to continue with missile procurement and the rest.  So the quicker we can slow or stop that, the better off we’ll all be, safer we’ll be.
MS ORTAGUS:  Anybody else in the room, finally?  Speak now – oh, we exhausted you.  Great accomplishment.  Thanks, everybody.
QUESTION:  I have a question —
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay. 
QUESTION:  (Inaudible.)  I’m sorry, I have —
MS ORTAGUS:  Well, you could ask – you could ask —
QUESTION:  No, I mean, I want to ask about annexation, so you’re probably best —
MS ORTAGUS:  Oh, okay, no —
QUESTION:  — you’re best qualified to answer it.
MS ORTAGUS:  What’s your question, Said?
QUESTION:  My question is that we are a little bit confused on the U.S. position on annexation of the West Bank because Mr. Kushner says one thing, Mr. Netanyahu says one thing, and the Secretary has not really clarified it.  So can you explain to us your position on annexation?  Is it – as a result of rapprochement or normalization between UAE and Israel, has it been put off indefinitely?
MS ORTAGUS:  I have to look exactly at what we said, but I believe that the Government of Israel and the Secretary and Kushner, when we talked about the Abraham Accords, said that it had – I think the word that we had used is “postponed” having given a timeline, but would just say that we still fundamentally believe the vision for peace that we put out in February, I think it was, is the right vision for peace for the Middle East, and we’ve seen by the first agreement between Arabs and Israelis in 25 years that this is the positive way forward that we hope for everybody in the Middle East – Israelis, Palestinians – and we hope the Palestinian leadership will come to the table. 
And so we will see.  We’re making progress.  And it was – as the Secretary said earlier, it was quite an honor and experience to be on the first flight last week – the first nonstop flight from Israel to Sudan, so that was a great moment.
Okay.  Thanks, Said.  Thanks, everybody.  Have a great day.