President Tsai Ing-wen officially welcomed Brent Christensen—new director of the American Institute in Taiwan—Aug. 23 at the Office of the President in Taipei City, pledging to continue strengthening Taiwan-U.S. relations across the board.
Taiwan and the U.S. enjoy a close trade and security partnership, and robust bilateral ties are the cornerstone of Indo-Pacific peace and prosperity, Tsai said. But recent actions by China in suppressing Taiwan’s international space have impacted regional stability, she added.
According to the president, these include using dollar diplomacy to lure away Taiwan’s allies like El Salvador, Burkina Faso and Dominican Republic; influencing the East Asian Olympic Committee into stripping Taichung City in central Taiwan of the 2019 East Asian Youth Games; pressuring airlines to change the country’s website designation; and sending military aircraft to encircle the island.
Tsai called on like-minded countries to stand with Taiwan on the front-line in defending democracy, freedom and rules-based order from incursions by China, as well as preserving the cross-strait status quo. At the same time, the government will continue enhancing the nation’s defensive capabilities and safeguarding its enviable way of life, she said.
The president also took the opportunity to thank Christensen for the U.S. government’s hospitality during her stopovers in Los Angeles and Houston during the recent successful nine-day state visit to allies Paraguay and Belize in South and Central America, respectively.
In response, Christensen said Taiwan-U.S. ties are as good as they have ever been, and he looks forward to deepening and expanding cooperation and friendship between the two sides.
Describing Taiwan as a reliable partner and important player in the Indo-Pacific, Christensen said the U.S. looks to Taiwan to help promote regional stability and peace, as well as protect shared values.
The U.S. will continue supporting Taiwan in its efforts to make a bigger contribution to the global community and resist efforts to curtail this participation, he added. (SFC-E)
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