President Tsai meets delegation led by former US Vice President Dan Quayle
On the afternoon of October 26, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation led by former United States Vice President Dan Quayle. During the meeting, President Tsai stressed that Taiwan, which is working to restructure its industry, hopes for closer cooperation with the US, and the New Southbound Policy it is pursuing helps to promote exchanges and joint development with other countries in the region.
In remarks, President Tsai noted that former Vice President Quayle has led a number of delegations to Taiwan since leaving office, a clear indication of how seriously he takes Taiwan. He is a very valued friend to our country, she said. The last time President Tsai saw Mr. Quayle was in July of 2015, at which time she stated that Taiwan would work to enhance its partnership with the US. It is a great pleasure, she added, to meet at the Presidential Office with Mr. Quayle and the other delegation members.
President Tsai stated that the US is Taiwan's most important strategic partner. On the basis of our shared values and common interests, she said, Taiwan and the US maintain very close political, security, economic, and cultural cooperation, and the stable Taiwan-US ties make a very important contribution to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
President Tsai thanked the US for abiding over the years by its security commitments to Taiwan. She noted that successive US administrations have continued selling arms to Taiwan pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, thus helping to strengthen Taiwan's national defense and security. In the future, she added, Taiwan will continue to be a reliable partner of the US in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition to national defense and security issues, President Tsai also spoke to her visitors about two key policies of Taiwan's new administration. First, the government is currently working to reform Taiwan's industrial structure. The government intends to focus especially on industries with bright prospects for the future, including smart machinery, the Internet of Things, green energy, the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, and the national defense industry. The president expressed confidence that Taiwan's cooperation with the US in these areas will inevitably grow closer as time goes by.
And second, President Tsai pointed to the New Southbound Policy, which the government is pursuing in hopes of using multifaceted exchanges in trade, culture, education and other fields to enhance cooperation and development with ASEAN nations, South Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The president said that in addition to restructuring Taiwan's industry and making it more competitive, she also hopes to bolster Taiwan's partnerships with countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia. "I firmly believe," she said, "that by doing so we can contribute to regional peace and stability, and it would also be helpful to the role played by the US in the region."
Also included in the delegation were former US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Jim Miller, former Australian National Security Representative to the United States Alasdair Gordon, President and CEO of the Project 2049 Institute Randall Schriver, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State John Anthony Gastright.