President Tsai meets US Heritage Foundation founder Dr. Edwin Feulner
On the morning of March 2, President Tsai Ing-wen met with founder of the Heritage Foundation Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, Jr. In remarks, President Tsai expressed hope that Taiwan and the United States will reach a bilateral trade agreement and an avoidance of double taxation agreement, which will help deepen our economic and trade partnership while enhancing our industrial competitiveness, and that Taiwan-US relations will reach new milestones in a variety of areas.
A translation of President Tsai's remarks follows:
I fondly remember my meeting with Dr. Feulner at the Presidential Office last February. That visit had to be conducted under diplomatic bubble arrangements. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, I warmly welcome Dr. Feulner and Editor of the Index of Economic Freedom Mr. Anthony Kim back again, and I look forward to seeing them in Taiwan as often as before the pandemic.
This year marks the Heritage Foundation's 50th anniversary. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Feulner and the Heritage Foundation for the attention and support that they have given to Taiwan-US relations over the years.
The Heritage Foundation is an influential US think tank. Its annual Index of Economic Freedom has been an important reference for governments around the world in improving economic policies. We note that in this year's index, Taiwan ranks fourth in the world, second in the Asia-Pacific region only to Singapore, which is our best-ever performance. Going forward, we will continue to work to build a free, open, and fair economic and trade environment. We will also bolster economic and trade cooperation with our democratic allies so that we can jointly maintain the security of the global supply chain.
In recent years, Taiwan and the US have not only reopened talks under our Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) but also actively expanded dialogue across other platforms. The Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, established last year, has already seen two rounds of negotiations. Last October, Taiwan and the US launched our first meeting under the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC) framework. And in December last year, we held the third Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD).
It is our hope that Taiwan and the US will further reach a bilateral trade agreement and an avoidance of double taxation agreement, which will help deepen our economic and trade partnership and enhance our industrial competitiveness.
In closing, I thank Dr. Feulner and Mr. Kim again for visiting us and promoting Taiwan-US exchanges. With your continued support, we look forward to Taiwan-US relations reaching new milestones in a variety of areas.
Dr. Feulner then delivered remarks, saying that it is a great honor for him to be able to visit with the president again in person in Taipei and to commend the president, her colleagues, the government, and all the people of Taiwan for being ranked fourth in the world in the Index of Economic Freedom, the highest score Taiwan has ever had. He explained that a high ranking in the index is important not just for government to government, but for people to people. Dr. Feulner then referenced professor Robert Barro from Harvard University, who pointed out in an earlier Index of Economic Freedom that more economic freedom means more wealth, more growth, and more prosperity for the people of the country that is doing better and being freer.
Dr. Feulner commended the president for her intense interest in promoting democracy around the world and for working closely with US institutions in that regard, adding that he and his colleagues at the Heritage Foundation have been proud to support those efforts and to participate in those programs over the years.
Dr. Feulner stated that he has been very encouraged in recent years to see very broad bipartisan support from individuals across the American political spectrum for a very close US-Taiwan relationship. He pointed out that the visit last year by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and her delegation caused some concern for other people in the Asia-Pacific region, but for them it was a sign of continued bipartisan support for the freedom, the independence, and the vigor of the US-Taiwan relationship. Dr. Feulner mentioned that President Tsai has also been recently visited by both the chairman and the ranking member of the new China Select Committee in the US House of Representatives, both of whom Dr. Feulner is familiar with. He also mentioned that the breadth of strengthening relationships between our two peoples is evident across the political spectrum, as it was by the visit of Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to Washington 10 days previous.
Dr. Feulner thanked the president for recognizing the Heritage Foundation's 50th anniversary, as he was one of the original signers at its establishment. In his 37 years as its president, he emphasized, one of the moments which he was very proud of was working with President Tsai's predecessors in establishing, passing, and implementing the Taiwan Relations Act, which codifies the very special relationship we have with each other. He then noted that as he reflects on his own legacy, he believes that President Tsai is also thinking about her own legacy and the legacy of enhancing the economic freedom of the people of her country and of reaffirming bipartisan, deep support for our close relationship among people throughout the United States.
Dr. Feulner said that his longtime friend and current speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy has indicated that he too would like to visit Taipei, and that he encourages Speaker McCarthy very strongly to do so. Dr. Feulner added that an independent individual wrote an op-ed in a major US newspaper suggesting that instead of Speaker McCarthy visiting Taiwan, President Tsai should visit Washington and address the House of Representatives, and that should the invitation to Washington be forthcoming, he invites President Tsai to visit the Heritage Foundation as well.
Dr. Feulner concluded his remarks by congratulating President Tsai for the achievements of her administration, and expressed his honor at presenting her with the newest edition of the Index of Economic Freedom.