President Tsai meets US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scott Busby
On the afternoon of October 19, President Tsai Ing-wen met at her official residence with Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the US Department of State. They shared experiences and exchanged views about issues including combatting disinformation, deepening democracy, and promoting human rights.
In remarks, President Tsai noted that Taiwan and the United States had just held an International Workshop on Defending Democracy through Media Literacy on October 18 and 19 under the auspices of the Taiwan-US Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF). She then welcomed Deputy Assistant Secretary Busby on his first visit to Taiwan, and thanked him for representing the US government and delivering the opening remarks at the workshop.
The president said everyone is aware that rampant disinformation has become a shared challenge for democratic nations throughout the world, and affects the stable development of countries within our region. Taiwan and the United States are responding to current issues, she said, by looking for ways to cooperate and come up with solutions. She was delighted that Deputy Assistant Secretary Busby participated in the workshop and contributed his valuable insights.
President Tsai pointed out that Taiwan, like the United States, is striving to defend values like freedom, democracy, and human rights. In addition to thanking other countries for supporting and assisting Taiwan during the course of its democratic reforms, she said, Taiwan hopes to share its democratic experience with the international community.
President Tsai also spoke with Deputy Assistant Secretary Busby about Taiwan's experience in promoting transitional justice, including the passage of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice, the establishment of the independent Transitional Justice Commission, and some setbacks the commission has experienced over the past few months. The president emphasized that the value of transitional justice lies in drawing on the lessons of history to achieve true reconciliation.
In closing, President Tsai stated that the Taiwan-US partnership has been steadily upgraded over the past two-plus years, and that she looks forward to even more cooperation and exchanges to continue strengthening that bilateral partnership.