Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen hosted a dinner for U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Keith Krach and his visiting delegation at the presidential residence on Friday evening (Sept. 18). According to a press release issued by the Taiwan Presidential Office, President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her sincere welcome to the U.S. delegation at the dinner and thanked the U.S. government for its support of democracy in Taiwan.
President Tsai said that tonight’s warm dinner to welcome Taiwan’s good friends and old friends expresses Taiwan’s determination to take a critical step forward, and that the face-to-face exchange of views will open a new milestone for deeper cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, and she hopes that future cooperation and dialogue between the two sides will continue and unfold smoothly, jointly promoting a more friendly and closer partnership between Taiwan and the United States.
She also expressed her hope that future cooperation and dialogue between the two sides will continue and proceed smoothly, and that we will work together to promote a closer and friendlier partnership.
She also thanked Secretary Clark for leading a delegation to attend the memorial service for former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, saying that Lee was an important driving force behind Taiwan’s democratization and that Taiwan and the United States today share the values of democracy, freedom, and human rights, and that Lee’s contributions should be greatly appreciated by both sides.
Other attendees at Friday’s dinner at the president’s residence included Taiwan National Security Council Secretary General Gu Lixiong, Executive Yuan Vice President Shen Rong-jin, Foreign Minister Wu Zhao-xie, Economic Affairs Minister Wang Meihua, Executive Yuan Councilor Deng Zhen-zhong, and TSMC founder Chang Zhong-mo.
In addition to Under Secretary Klatsch, the U.S. side was represented by AIT’s Taipei Office Director Brent Christensen, Assistant Secretary Robert Destro of the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Assistant Secretary Ian Steff of the Commerce Department’s Global Markets Division, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Cori (D.C.), and Secretary of State John F. Kennedy. The visit to Taiwan was also attended by Kelley Currie, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs and Chairman of the 2049 Project Institute, Randy Schriver, and Jeffrey Horwitz, Senior Advisor for Trade and Business Affairs at AIT headquarters in Washington, DC.
Deputy Secretary Klatsch’s three-day, two-night, whirlwind visit to Taiwan was a closed-door meeting, except for Saturday’s memorial service for Lee Teng-hui, which was an open agenda, especially since he is the most senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 41 years.
In contrast to the low-key behavior of the U.S. delegation, China made announcements of military exercises and dispatched a total of 18 fighter jets, which repeatedly flew over Taiwan’s west coast airspace to disturb and provoke Taiwan.
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