Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Ma Ying-jeou met on the evening of July 18 with the US Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs Coordinator Dawn L. McCall. The president expressed a cordial welcome and gratitude to Coordinator McCall, who is visiting Taiwan to participate in the establishment of American Corner in Taipei and Taichung by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
In remarks, the president stated that AIT started preparations for the establishment of the American Corner seven years ago with the hope to provide a more comprehensive array of information to the public interested in interaction between Taiwan and the United States. President Ma commented that the focus of interaction between the two countries is generally concentrated on arms sales and trade issues. However, education and cultural exchanges are an important part of bilateral interaction that cannot be overlooked. In fact, the president noted that the close cultural and educational interaction between Taiwan and the United States does not pale in comparison to the cooperative bilateral military and trade relationships. For instance, the information search service many years ago provided by the United States Information Service library was quite helpful to students from Taiwan pursuing advanced studies in the United States.

President Ma furthermore remarked that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year during an address at the East West Center in Hawaii mentioned that Taiwan is an important security and economic partner of the United States. This, he said, represents that both countries place considerable importance on relations with the other. In addition, several high-ranking American government officials visited Taiwan last year, including United States Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah and Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel B. Poneman. These visits were conducive to fostering the bilateral relationship. President Ma also expressed his hopes that Coordinator McCall's visit will not only help to further advance relations between the two countries, but also enable the people of Taiwan to better understand the work carried out by the AIT and participate in activities organized by the agency.

Accompanying Coordinator McCall to the Presidential Office to meet President Ma was AIT Taipei Office Deputy Director Eric H. Madison. Also attending the meeting were National Security Council Advisor Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明) and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷).