President Tsai Ing-wen received Sen. David Perdue at the Office of the President June 1 in Taipei City, vowing to continue working to enhance Taiwan-U.S. relations across a broad spectrum of areas.
 
Both sides are champions of democracy, Tsai said. This fact is reflected in the health of the bilateral relationship and a joint commitment to squarely facing traditional and nontraditional challenges to rules-based international order, she added.
 
Perdue, who was accompanied by a congressional delegation, was making his first visit to Taiwan since entering the U.S. Senate in 2015. His special one-day visit took place at a time when Taiwan’s international space is coming under increased pressure from China.
 
According to the president, Taiwan, the U.S. and other like-minded countries must stand together in defending democracy and shared principles and values. This will safeguard peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific for generations to come, she said.
 
Examples of strong Taiwan-U.S. ties include Washington’s continuous commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances, as well as U.S. arms sales announced in 2017, the president said.
 
Case in point is the State Department’s approval earlier this year of the marketing license required by U.S. defense contractors to supply Taiwan with the technology and parts it needs to build submarines, Tsai said, adding that this underscores a determination by Washington to support its partners in the Indo-Pacific.
 
Taiwan deeply values this backing, the president said, and will do its part by deepening the close and complementary bilateral trade and economic partnership. Next month, the government is sending a major delegation to the SelectUSA summit, as well as to Perdue’s home state of Georgia on an agricultural mission in 2019, she added.
 
Tsai also expressed her appreciation to the member of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee on behalf of the government and people for the U.S.’s support of Taiwan’s bid to participate in Interpol and the World Health Organization, as well as his co-signing of a May 16 letter by 13 senators to WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling for Taiwan’s invitation as an observer to the recently concluded 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva.
 
In response, Perdue said the two sides share a firm friendship and the long-term support of Taiwan in assisting the U.S. address regional issues is sincerely appreciated. It is hoped relations can be further enhanced so as to better manage issues of mutual concern, he added. (SFC-E)