President Tsai's itinerary during stopover in New York
On the afternoon of July 13 local time (early morning of July 14 Taipei time), President Tsai Ing-wen concluded a stopover in New York and continued to the Republic of Haiti on her Journey of Freedom, Democracy, and Sustainability. As the president's chartered aircraft headed to Haiti, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) delivered a briefing on President Tsai's interactions with US political figures.
Deputy Secretary-General Tsai stated that in addition to her public itinerary, the president had closed-door meetings with US friends to exchange views on Taiwan-US relations and regional security. After arriving in New York on the afternoon of July 11, the president met with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman James Moriarty. On the morning of July 12, she had a breakfast meeting with former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. The president then spoke with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, by phone. On the afternoon of July 12, before the reception and the expatriate banquet, the president also met with members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Deputy Secretary-General Tsai mentioned that during her closed-door meetings, President Tsai conveyed several important messages. First, she thanked the US authorities for their assistance and arrangements during her US stopover. Second, the president stated during the meetings that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, Taiwan-US relations have been excellent over the past three-plus years. In the future, she hopes that both sides will develop even closer and more substantive cooperation so that together, we can create a sustainable Taiwan-US partnership. And third, the president offered the United States special thanks for acknowledging the importance of security in the Taiwan Strait, and for its recently announced plan to sell M1A2T Abrams tanks to Taiwan, helping us boost our self-defense capabilities. The president also pledged to the United States that Taiwan will continue to play the role of a responsible partner in the Indo-Pacific region. In this role, she said, Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to jointly defend democratic values, peace, and stability in the region.
Commenting on media reports that President Tsai had met with someone at the assistant secretary level in the US government, Deputy Secretary-General Tsai stated that such reports are mistaken, and that such information was not verified with official government sources. He asked that friends in the media refrain from over-interpretations. The arrangements made by Taiwan and US authorities regarding stopovers in the United States, he said, are worked out based on mutual trust and experience developed through long-term, mutual understanding. Therefore, we will not deliberately manipulate or needlessly exaggerate news reports during a stopover, and we ask for the understanding of our friends in the media. This clarification, Deputy Secretary-General Tsai said, was provided specifically to address unsubstantiated reporting.