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AIT head dedicates site for new US compound

The new US$170 million American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) compound in the hills of Taipei will not just be a building, but also a focal point of everything beneficial to Taiwan and the US, AIT Director Stephen Young said at a site dedication ceremony yesterday.

Calling it a “21st century” complex that would be constructed using the latest environmentally friendly technology, Young said the building in Neihu District (內湖) would embody “America’s 21st-century relations with Taiwan.”

Young said the idea of a new AIT building had been in the works since he arrived in Taiwan in 1998. At that time, AIT director Darryl Johnson asked Young to find a suitable lot for the building.

With the help of several Taipei City mayors, including former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), as well as local government agencies, a lease for the 6.5 hectare plot was finally signed in 2004.

Speaking at the ceremony, National Security Council ­Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) said the building signified the longevity and sustainability of Taiwan-US relations, adding that the US was Taiwan’s truest and most reliable friend.

He said Young once described Taiwan-US relations as being upheld by three pillars — democracy, security and economics.

“But I like to add that the pillars stand on a foundation of mutual trust,” Su said.

He said that although trust between Taiwan and the US had declined in the past few years, it had now been completely restored.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the building was likely to become a new landmark in Neihu.

The AIT said the compound would house all of the institute’s current Taipei offices, including the American Cultural Center, the Commercial Section, the Chinese Language and Area Studies School and the Agricultural Trade Office.

The AIT did not say when the building would be likely to open.
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