Former U.S. National Security Advisor O’Brien Joins U.S.-Taiwan Relations Research Think Tank

Former White House National Security Advisor O’Brien will join the Global Taiwan Institute (GTI), a Washington think tank, as chair of a new working group on U.S.-Taiwan relations. The group will conduct a comprehensive study of U.S.-Taiwan relations and make relevant recommendations.

The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, made the announcement on March 13, noting that the 21st Century U.S.-Taiwan Relations Working Group, led by O’Brien, will bring together leading policy practitioners and scholars to conduct a comprehensive study of U.S.-Taiwan relations and make recommendations on how to enhance the bilateral relationship.

GTI Chairman Wenyan Chen said it is a great honor for GTI to have someone like O’Brien, who is a major player in policy circles and understands how decisions are made at the highest levels of the U.S. government. He believes that under O’Brien’s leadership, the new working group will be able to achieve remarkable results and enhance the understanding of U.S.-Taiwan relations among U.S. policymakers.

O’Brien also said in a press release that he is honored to join GTI’s Global Taiwan Studies Center to take on this important task. At a time when the Chinese Communist Party is becoming increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan’s democracy, policymakers should take a holistic look at the U.S.-Taiwan relationship,” he said. GTI’s newly formed working group can play an important role at a critical time for the U.S. and Taiwan.”

Central News Agency reports that O’Brien, 55, served as White House national security adviser during former President Donald Trump’s presidency and has a strong anti-China stance. He once visited Taiwan in 2016 and later wrote an article calling for Taiwan to face China with caution and strengthen Taiwan’s indigenous defense capabilities; during his tenure as national security adviser, he also publicly warned Beijing not to try to seize Taiwan by force.

“The Center for Global Taiwan Studies, founded in 2016 by Taiwanese and Taiwanese-Americans, is the only one of more than 390 think tanks in Washington that focuses on Taiwan-U.S. relations, and is currently headed by Hsiao Liang-chi, son of Hsiao Hsin-huang, senior administrator of Taiwan’s presidential administration, as its executive director. Before O’Brien joined, the think tank had already recruited a number of former U.S. officials, including former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia-Pacific Affairs Wallace Gregson, former Chief of the China Section in the Office of the Secretary of Defense Joseph Bosco, former head of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei Office Stephen Young and William Stanton. William Stanton, former Director of the AIT Taipei Office, are all members of the GTI Advisory Committee.