On the morning of August 11, President Tsai Ing-wen addressed the opening of the 2021 Asian Conference of Women’s Shelters via video. In her remarks, President Tsai said that by expanding access to affordable, high-quality housing, we can reduce the burden on victims of abuse and disadvantaged groups, empowering them to start new lives while taking steps to bring about residential justice.

On the morning of August 10, President Tsai Ing-wen met with Sandra Oudkirk, the new Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). During the meeting, President Tsai expressed hope that Taiwan and the US will continue to build on our strong cooperative partnership, working together as real friends to make real progress and take our bilateral ties to new heights.

Vice President Lai Ching-te received Australian Office Taipei Representative Jenny Bloomfield Aug. 5 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City, pledging to advance bilateral relations across the board.

In response to the United States government’s August 4 (US EST) announcement of the sale of 40 M109A6 Paladin Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems and related equipment to Taiwan, Presidential Office Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) today (August 5) thanked the US on behalf of the government of Taiwan for fulfilling its commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances.

On the morning of August 3, President Tsai Ing-wen met with leaders of the Reform for Resilience Commission’s (R4R) Asia-Pacific Hub. In her remarks at the meeting, President Tsai highlighted the importance of promoting sustainable, balanced development and building a more robust social safety net as countries around the world continue to concurrently fight the pandemic and pursue economic recovery.

On the morning of August 1, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, President Tsai Ing-wen delivered recorded remarks at an event marking the 27th anniversary of the government’s rectification of the legal term used to refer to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.

Vice President Lai Ching-te said July 21 that Taiwan is committed to promoting the development of biomedical industries across Asia and playing a pivotal role in international health cooperation.

On the evening of July 16, the Presidential Office held a press conference following the APEC Informal Leaders’ Retreat.

Leader’s Representative Dr. Morris Chang (張忠謀) successfully attended the entirety of the closed-door 2021 APEC Informal Leaders’ Retreat, which was held by videoconference from 7:00 pm to 9:40 pm on July 16 (Taipei time). This marked the first time since APEC’s founding in 1989 that the host has convened an additional mid-year leaders’ meeting.

In response to the arrival of a third shipment of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines donated by Japan, Presidential Office Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said the Presidential Office is again sincerely grateful to the Japanese government for its timely assistance, and noted that this shipment of approximately 1 million doses, which arrived in Taiwan on the afternoon of July 15, has brought the total number of doses donated to Taiwan by the Japanese government to over 3.3 million.