US support for Taiwan’s self-defense remains firm, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said yesterday at the unveiling of a memorial to honor the 126 US service members who have lost their lives defending Taiwan since 1949.
The ceremony at the institute commemorated US Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Medendorp and US Lieutenant Colonel Frank Lynn, who died defending Taiwan in 1954 in Kinmen.
Medals and framed certificates were conferred to them in 2016 by then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Photo courtesy of the American Institute in Taiwan
The AIT displays the medals and the certificates in the lobby of its Taipei facility.
“Beyond the sacrifices of these two brave men, these medals, this flag and this memorial are intended to honor all US personnel — past, present and future — who participated or will participate in the US-Taiwan strategic partnership to support Taiwan’s self-defense,” Christensen said.
“Many of today’s threats are different than the ones these brave men confronted. We face dangerous new technologies, a deadly pandemic and the unpredictable effects of climate change, but our partnership, rooted in tradition, continues to exemplify the mutual support, mutual respect, and mutual interests that these service members and their cohort helped to build between our societies and between our militaries,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the American Institute in Taiwan
Taiwan and the US have made great progress in security cooperation, economic and commercial partnerships, Taiwan’s participation in the international community, and promotion of people-to-people ties between the two countries in his time as AIT head, Christensen said, adding that the progress on security cooperation is particularly noteworthy.
The security relationship began during World War II and continued after the war with the establishment of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in 1951 and the US Taiwan Defense Command after the first Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1954 and 1955.
US service members were stationed throughout Taiwan, including Kinmen and Matsu during the conflict, with 126 of them perishing while providing assistance and support to Taiwan’s armed forces, Christensen said.
“Our close friendship also means that when Taiwan suffers the loss of valued comrades, as they have this year, we feel those losses as though they were our own, but as we grieve together, we also feel a renewed sense of commitment and purpose,” he said.
Veteran Affairs Council Minister Kent Feng (馮世寬) said that he was touched that the families of Medendorp and Lynn allowed the medals to reside in Taiwan.
Their presence here would show people the sacrifices the soldiers made to defend freedom and peace in Taiwan, Feng said.
Taiwan has contributed to peace and stability in East Asia for almost 60 years with US assistance and tremendous sacrifices by Taiwanese military personnel, Feng said, adding that the council and the American Legion veterans’ association would resume collaborations after the COVID-19 pandemic eases.
Earlier yesterday, the AIT posted photographs on Facebook showing Christensen and other officials preparing offerings for Ghost Festival.
Additional reporting by CNA
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
ELITE UNIT: President William Lai yesterday praised the National Police Agency’s Special Operations Group after watching it go through assault training and hostage rescue drills The US Navy regularly conducts global war games to develop deterrence strategies against a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, aimed at making the nation “a very difficult target to take,” US Acting Chief of Naval Operations James Kilby said on Wednesday. Testifying before the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Kilby said the navy has studied the issue extensively, including routine simulations at the Naval War College. The navy is focused on five key areas: long-range strike capabilities; countering China’s command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting; terminal ship defense; contested logistics; and nontraditional maritime denial tactics, Kilby
RSS