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During her meeting with a delegation from the Hudson Institute, a think tank based in Washington DC, on the morning of October 24, President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the Trump administration for supporting democratic Taiwan. She also pledged that Taiwan will continue to stand with like-minded countries in promoting a free and open future.
In remarks, President Tsai stated that all of her guests, whether serving in government or a think-tank, have shown their commitment to promoting global security, prosperity, and freedom. She was pleased to welcome Dr. William Schneider (Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute) back to Taiwan after his last visit over a decade ago, and expressed hope that through this trip, the guests will see first-hand how resilient Taiwan's democratic society is when faced with challenges.
Earlier this month, the president said, US Vice President Mike Pence recognized Taiwan's democratic achievements in his speech at the Hudson Institute. She expressed her gratitude to the Trump administration for twice approving arms sales to Taiwan, showing US support for democratic Taiwan. In the future, she said, we will continue to work together with like-minded countries to promote a free and open future.
The president cited Taiwan's co-hosting of a workshop on media literacy with the United States under the auspices of the Taiwan-US Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) last week in Taipei as an example. In the Indo-Pacific and other parts of the world, she said, disinformation is now often used to undermine people's trust in their own government, and even their faith in democratic values.
President Tsai believes that to address the challenges that disinformation brings, it is critical that all democracies collaborate so that our people and media can defend the values of democracy and freedom together. She was pleased that Taiwan and the United States are strengthening cooperation on this non-traditional security issue, and hopes to have more discussion and information sharing with more like-minded friends in the future.
To achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, the president stated, we also need to make more holistic assessments and preparations based on the current global situation. Over the past two years, we have been working tirelessly to enhance our national defense self-sufficiency to show our commitment to self-defense, she said.
In closing, President Tsai reiterated that the people of Taiwan will not bow to pressure. She is also confident that with the support of the visiting delegation members, and all of our international friends who uphold democracy, we will create a secure, prosperous, and free future. She then said that she looked forward to hearing their views and suggestions, and expressed hope that they will visit Taiwan often in the future.
