President Tsai meets US and Japanese political science scholars from Brookings Institution
President Tsai Ing-wen met with US and Japanese political science scholars from the Brookings Institution on the morning of June 13. She stated that Taiwan's determination to embrace the world will not change, and that working together with the United States and Japan, we hope to make even greater contributions to the international community.
President Tsai began her remarks by welcoming the delegation, organized by the Brookings Institution, on their visit to Taiwan. She said that the visiting experts and scholars at the meeting are all quite familiar with Taiwan and visit often. Since she took office, the president recalled, Dr. Richard Bush has visited Taiwan every year, and last year, Professor Yasuhiro Matsuda also led a delegation to the Presidential Office.
President Tsai thanked the delegation members for their concern about Taiwan-related issues, and for recognizing the importance of those issues. She expressed hope that during this visit they will give us valuable suggestions when they meet with our government personnel and academics.
Under the Indo-Pacific Strategy, President Tsai stated, cooperation among Taiwan, the United States, and Japan is an important force for regional stability. It's also worth noting that, beginning this year, Japan has joined the Taiwan-US Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), said the president.
So far, the three GCTF members have co-hosted four workshops, President Tsai noted, with topics ranging from fighting corruption in the public and private sectors and women's economic empowerment, to managing drug-resistant tuberculosis and cybersecurity. She expressed her belief that these cooperative exchanges will enhance the wellbeing of all our partners in the Indo-Pacific region, and deepen our ties on all fronts.
Dr. Bush has supported strengthening Taiwan-US economic and trade ties, said the president, and we will push for Taiwan-US and Taiwan-Japan free trade agreement negotiations while stepping up our efforts for admission to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Through closer cooperation, she stated, we hope to strengthen our partnerships, and promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
President Tsai mentioned that although China's oppression of Taiwan has escalated in recent years, at this year's World Health Assembly (WHA), in addition to our diplomatic allies, many like-minded countries also spoke up on Taiwan's behalf. That shows how much Taiwan's international contributions are appreciated. She added that we also thank the US and Japanese representatives for publically supporting Taiwan at the WHA. Japan's Foreign Minister, Taro Kono, also tweeted his support for Taiwan's WHA participation, she said.
In closing, the president stated that Taiwan's determination to embrace the world will not change, and that working together with the United States and Japan, we hope to make even greater contributions to the international community. She also looks forward to more exchanges with the delegation members in the future.