President Tsai Ing-wen received outgoing American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond F. Burghardt Sept. 13 at the Office of the President in Taipei City, expressing appreciation for his long-term contributions to strengthening Taiwan-U.S. ties.
Tsai thanked Burghardt, AIT director from 1999-2001 and chairman since 2006, for dedicating more than 12 years of his four-decade diplomatic career to deepening the long-standing friendship between the two sides.
Noting the Taiwan-U.S. partnership is based on shared values and common interests, the president told Burghardt that Taiwan looks forward to further enhancing cooperation with the U.S. in such areas as trade, security and international participation.
She expressed gratitude to the U.S. for publicly welcoming Taiwan’s interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and voiced her hope that the U.S. will take more substantive action to support Taiwan’s bid to join the second round of negotiations for the pact.
The retiring chairman said it was a privilege to help foster Taiwan-U.S. ties, adding he will continue to closely follow the development of relations going forward.
Burghardt is visiting Taiwan Sept. 11-15 on his 20th and final trip as AIT chairman. During this stay, he released a farewell video message on the AIT website in which he praised the nation’s development and political environment.
“Over these 40-plus years, I have witnessed Taiwan’s remarkable transition to a vibrant democracy and a global economic powerhouse,” he said. “As I look ahead, I expect to see our cooperation and friendship continue to grow stronger.”
The AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Both sides enjoy robust people-to-people exchanges in areas including business, culture and tourism. Bilateral trade exceeded US$60 billion last year, while travel from Taiwan to the U.S. has increased more than 50 percent since Taiwan was included in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2012. (WF-E)