President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday met with former US vice president Dick Cheney and expressed the hope that the strategic partnership between Taiwan and the US will continue to improve.
Tsai said that Cheney has been a supporter of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) since his election to the US House of Representatives in 1979, the Presidential Office said in a statement after the meeting, which was not open to the media.
Over the past 38 years, the TRA has served as an important foundation for Taiwan’s security and development as well as peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and is the best indicator of the strong relationship between Taiwan and the US, Tsai said.
She said Taipei welcomes the arms sale package recently announced by US President Donald Trump’s administration, which demonstrates Washington’s determination to continue to fulfill its commitment to Taiwan.
She said that Taiwan and the US are committed to maintaining regional peace and stability, and safeguarding each other’s interests and values.
Tsai said she looks forward to more progress in Taiwan-US relations with the support of Cheney and the Trump administration, including a growing strategic partnership between the two sides, especially in the areas of trade, investment, defense and people-to-people exchanges.
Cheney arrived in Taiwan on Sunday on a four-day visit and is today to deliver a speech at a forum on Asia-Pacific security held by the Prospect Foundation.
He served as US vice president from 2001 to 2009 in the Republican administration of former US president George W. Bush, and was US secretary of defense from 1989 to 1993.
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