Ties between US, Taiwan improving: representative

Ties between Taiwan and the US have continued to steadily improve despite Washington's criticism, Taiwan Representative to the US David Lee (李大維) said on Saturday.

Lee said that although US President George W. Bush criticized Taiwan's leaders in 2003 and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell described Taiwan as a "landmine" for Washington-Beijing relations in 2004, relations have improved as US criticism dropped off over the past two years.

Lee made the remarks during a speech titled "The Current Status of Taiwan-US Ties" at an event held in Washington to commemorate the 228 Incident.

Lee said that Taiwanese must strive to retain a system of freedom and democracy -- values that are identical to those pursued by the US.

The democratic system -- which allows people to criticize the president and the government -- has above all granted the people of Taiwan the right to choose their future freely, Lee said.