President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday congratulated US president-elect Joe Biden on winning the US presidential election.
“Now it is my turn to extend congratulations to @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris on being elected President & VP-elect. The values on which we have built our relationship could not be stronger. I look fwd to working together to further our friendship, & contributions to int’l society,” Tsai wrote on Twitter.
Tsai in the morning met with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and other national security officials to discuss the state of US-Taiwan relations, a source said.
They also contacted Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) to hear her perspective on the issue, the source said.
Based on current indicators, the government is confident that US-Taiwan trade ties would remain stable under the new US administration, they added.
Although the incoming US Democratic Party administration has yet to formulate foreign-trade policies, information from congressional representatives across party lines, as well as think tanks, indicate that the US will maintain its trade relationship with Taiwan, the source said.
The US is also likely to continue selling weapons to Taiwan, as suggested by Democratic US representatives’ approval of such sales in the past, the source said, adding that an arms package with items important to Taiwan’s asymmetrical warfare capabilities have recently been approved.
Su said Taiwan-US relations would flourish under the Biden administration.
With years of friendship and partnership between Taiwan and the US, as well as the democratic values shared by the two sides, the Biden administration would definitely value Taiwan more, Su said in response to media queries.
Su sidestepped a question about progress on a trade deal with the US, saying instead that Taiwan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed the country to continue to grow its economy.
The US has also spoken up for Taiwan on numerous occasions, and the two sides would work to further advance their relationship, he added.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also congratulated Biden and US vice president-elect Kamala Harris on their victory.
“The KMT looks forward to a continued reciprocal and cooperative partnership between the US under the leadership of Mr. Biden and the Republic of China (Taiwan),” the KMT said in a statement, “as well as more constructive developments in international participation, trade, democracy, and security cooperation.”
“American people once again show the world how to make democracy work,” the KMT wrote on Twitter.
KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) congratulated Biden and Harris on Twitter, writing: “We look fwd to enhancing the ROC (Taiwan)-US relations with your administration.”
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