NEWS CONFERENCE: The US senator told journalists that he would continue to lead efforts in the US Congress to ensure Taiwan’s voice is represented internationally
Taipei Times
Date: Jun 03, 2019
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
US Senator Cory Gardner pledged to push for the passage of a bill that would require
President Tsai Ing-wen, front right, takes US Senator Cory Gardner, center left, on a tour of Taipei’s Dadaocheng District yesterday.
Photo: CNA
the US government to work with other nations to ensure that Taiwan is recognized internationally in the face of China’s efforts to block Taipei’s entry into international organizations and reduce its diplomatic allies.
“The importance of the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative [TAIPEI Act] is the bipartisan support we have for the act. Passage of the legislation can be challenging sometimes in the US, regardless of the subject matter. We would push for the passage of TAIPEI Act as well as the principle behind it, which signifies US support for Taiwan, US recognition that friends and allies around the globe support Taiwan as well as an important launch of strategy for global Taiwan relations,” Gardner, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, told a news conference at the Taipei Guest House.
He and three colleagues — Republican senators Marco Rubio and John Cornyn and Democrat Chris Coons — reintroduced the TAIPEI Act last month after it failed to win approval when it was first proposed last year.
Gardner said his visit, his fourth, was to stress the importance of the US-Taiwan relationship as well as Taiwan being a key part of a free and open US Indo-Pacific strategy. [FULL STORY]
