FRIENDLY AND FAMILIAR:Reince Priebus, who was named as the next White House chief of staff, has visited Taiwan twice and last year met with President Tsai Ing-wen
Taipei Times
Date: Nov 15, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
A change of government in the US will not affect Washington’s commitment to Taiwan, while Taiwan is
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee speaks to the media in Taipei yesterday before going into a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
likely to benefit from a US Republican administration in securing arms deals, diplomatic and defense officials said yesterday.
US administrations have consistently shaped Taiwan-US relations according to the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” and US president-elect Donald Trump’s administration is not expected to deviate from that pattern, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) said during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
The US Republican Party incorporated the “six assurances” and the sale of defensive arms to Taiwan into the party platform in July, which the Trump campaign recognized, so a friendly US administration and deeper bilateral military relations could reasonably be expected, Lee said.
Last year, Taiwan was the US’ ninth-largest trade partner, seventh-largest destination for US agricultural exports, 19th-largest source of international visitors and seventh-largest source of international students, and has proven itself to be a solid partner to the US, Lee said. [FULL STORY]
