Tsai pledges to advance freedom, democracy, prosperity in Indo-Pacific

2018/10/26

President Tsai Ing-wen said Oct. 24 that Taiwan will continue cooperating with like-minded countries around the world in building a future characterized by freedom, democracy and prosperity.
 
 Faced with constant challenges to Taiwan’s democracy over the past two years, the government is resolute in its commitment to strengthening the nation’s armed forces, Tsai said. The central plank in this approach is additional investment in and support for indigenous defense programs, she added.
 
 Tsai made the remarks while receiving a delegation of analysts and experts from Washington-based Hudson Institute at the Office of the President in Taipei City. The group includes Seth Cropsey, Jerry Hendrix, retired Rear Adm. Michael McDevitt, William Schneider and Christian Whiton.
 
 According to Tsai, Taiwan will not yield to pressure and is willing and able to cooperate with regional partners on tackling traditional and nontraditional security issues while advancing the strategy of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
 
 Tsai said the government and people sincerely appreciate the support for Taiwan and its democracy expressed by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during his remarks earlier in the month at Hudson Institute. This backing is echoed by the announcement of two Taiwan arms sales by the administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, as well as a continued adherence to the Taiwan Relations Act, she added.
 
 Another example of the strength of Taiwan-U.S. ties, Tsai said, is the successful staging this month of the International Workshop on Defending Democracy through Media Literacy under the Taiwan-U.S. Global Cooperation Training Framework.
 
 Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, American Institute in Taiwan and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the two-day event in Taipei brought together participants from 12 countries. High-profile attendees included MOFA Minister Joseph Jaushieh Wu; Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang; Legislative Yuan President Su Chia-chyuan; Scott Busby, deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. Department of State; and AIT Director Brent Christensen.
 
 As disinformation threatens all democracies, the workshop illustrated Taiwan and the U.S.’s rock-solid position on working together in defending shared values and promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, Tsai said.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=2&post=144010)