Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Tsai Ing-wen met with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars delegation on the morning of September 30 at her official residence. She stated that Taiwan will continue to strengthen cooperative partnerships with the US and other like-minded countries, so that together, we can respond to regional challenges and threats, and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

A translation of the president's remarks follows:

I would like to begin by offering a warm welcome to Ambassador Negroponte and the members of the delegation.

During this visit by Ambassador Negroponte and an outstanding group of experts and scholars, we look forward to hearing everyone's comments and suggestions.

Taiwan-US relations are now better than ever, and our cooperation has never been closer.

The US government is actively fulfilling its commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, and has approved five arms packages for Taiwan since President Trump took office.

We are also dedicated to developing our domestic defense industries. Last week, we saw concrete results of our efforts with the rollout of Taiwan's new, self-developed advanced trainer jet. Support from the US has helped Taiwan develop our national defense capabilities, so that through our cooperative efforts, we can continue to contribute to regional stability. 

Over the past three years, we have been dedicated to creating a more investment-friendly environment. A succession of well-known international firms from the US and Europe decided to invest in Taiwan, showing that they are bullish about Taiwan’s development. This year, we also keep setting new records for total domestic investment by returning Taiwanese firms, with pledged investments already exceeding NT$600 billion dollars. 

Taiwan has solid economic development potential, and is an important US economic partner. I am sure that through more exchanges and cooperation, Taiwan and the US can achieve even more in economics, trade, and industrial development.

Although China continues to squeeze Taiwan's international space, our determination to embrace the international community will not change. Taiwan will remain a force for good, and will not bow to external pressure. We will continue to strengthen cooperative partnerships with the US and other like-minded countries, so that together, we can respond to regional challenges and threats, and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The delegation was accompanied to the president's official residence by Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉). Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General David T. Lee (李大維).