Taiwan’s new representative to the US arrived in Washington on Saturday to assume his new post and vowed to continue deepening bilateral ties.
Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), who was appointed on Nov. 13, told reporters upon his arrival that the US is one of Taiwan’s most important allies and supporter of Taiwanese democracy.
He said he will build upon the foundation laid out by his predecessor, former US representative Jason Yuan (袁健生), to continue deepening Taiwan-US relations, especially in economic and security issues.
Photo: CNA
He quoted American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghard as saying that bilateral ties are at their strongest in the past 30 years, adding that the governments of both sides hope to keep improving their relationship.
Chris Beede, director of the US Department of State’s Office of Taiwan Coordination, and AIT Managing Director Barbara Schrage greeted King upon his arrival in Washington.
Saying that she welcomed King’s arrival, Schrage expressed hope that King would help build long-term ties between the two countries.
Schrage declined to respond directly to a media inquiry on whether the two sides will resume talks on the long-stalled Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), saying only that all issues would be discussed.
King is scheduled to visit Taiwanese expatriates and US government officials in Washington. He is to stay in the US capital for less than a month before returning to Taipei to attend a legislative session scheduled for Dec. 26.
Talks under the TIFA, which was signed in 1994 as a framework for Taiwan-US dialogue on trade-related issues, have been shelved since 2007 due to the US’ dissatisfaction with Taiwan’s restrictions on imports of US beef containing traces of the feed additive ractopamine.
Taiwan relaxed the ban on imports of US beef containing the controversial substance in July, paving the way for a resumption of the talks.
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