Director Brent Christensen spoke at National Taipei University for exhibition on Taiwan-US ties

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/11
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

NEW TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Addressing the students of National Taipei University in New Taipei City on Wednesday (Mar. 11), Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Brent Christensen described the relationship between Taiwan and the U.S. as a family that both sides have chosen to belong to.

Bound by shared values, similar economic principles, and a common commitment to making contributions to international society, Taiwan and the U.S. have collaborated on a wide array of areas, including most recently the disarming of disinformation, said Christensen. “Tackling disinformation is a challenge shared by all members of the family of democracies,” he said.

“Disinformation seeks to deepen existing divides within societies, interfere in elections, and in our case, undermine public confidence in the U.S.-Taiwan friendship,” said the director. “AIT has worked with our Taiwan partners to share information and expertise, to fund academic research to better understand this challenge, and to empower civil society to come up with innovative solutions,” Christensen added.

The director also reiterated the U.S.’s effort to enlarge Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, which often exclude the island nation due to pressure from China. The AIT is working with the Taiwanese authorities on activities intended to “reaffirm the critical need to expand Taiwan's participation in the international community and its role in global problem solving.”    [FULL  STORY]