Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met with a group of scholars and experts from the Brookings Institution today (14th), emphasizing the country’s commitment to defending democracy and maintaining regional peace and stability, as well as deepening Taiwan-U.S. economic and trade relations.
During his speech to the Brookings Institution delegation this morning, President Tsai Ing-wen welcomed the return of longtime friend of Taiwan, Director Ryan Hass, and expressed delight at the first-time visits to Taiwan by former U.S. Vice President’s National Security Advisor Philip H. Gordon and Director of the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe Constanze Stelzenmüller.
President Tsai pointed out that the Brookings Institution, with over a century of history, is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in the United States, and its analyses and recommendations are highly regarded worldwide. Taiwan values its friendship with everyone and hopes that the delegation’s visit will enhance understanding of Taiwan through exchanges with various sectors of the country.
He emphasized that Taiwan is now a global player, not only serving as a key hub in the “global democracy value chain” and the “Indo-Pacific first island chain,” but also an essential link in the “global non-red supply chain.” The development and achievements of Taiwan today are not only due to the people’s cherish of democracy and hard work but also because of the longstanding strong support from the U.S. government, Congress, and think tank friends from both sides of the aisle.
“Facing the ongoing threats and pressures from China through military, economic, gray zone infiltration, united front tactics, media and psychological warfare, Taiwan will not only actively implement the ‘Four Pillars of Peace’ action plan but also strengthen national defense, establish economic security, join hands with like-minded countries including the United States, and in March this year proposed 17 coping strategies to fully defend Taiwan’s democracy and safeguard peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” said President Tsai.
President Tsai further mentioned that amidst the changes and reorganizations in the international economic and trade order, Taiwan will continue to deepen its economic and trade relations with the U.S. on an existing strong foundation to create a win-win situation. Whether ongoing negotiations on equal tariff agreements or the “Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement” beneficial to both the U.S. and Taiwan, he hopes that consensus will be reached as soon as possible through mutual efforts to deepen cooperation in various areas and jointly promote the future progress and prosperity of Taiwan-U.S. relations.
He believes that as long as both sides adhere to common values and maintain close cooperation, the path to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. will become wider and smoother.
Director Ryan Hass expressed that the Brookings Institution has been sending delegations to Taiwan for years and looks forward to continuous visits in the future, regardless of changing situations or circumstances, and hopes for further exchanges to follow.