The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s nomination of Project 2049 Institute president Randall Schriver as assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, saying it hopes Schriver can further advance Taiwan-US relations.
Schriver took the helm of the Project 2049 Institute — a US think tank dedicated to researching security trends in Asia — after serving as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2003 to 2005.
From 2001 to 2003, he served as chief of staff and senior policy adviser to then-deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage.
“During his tenure as US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Schriver on several occasions publicly reiterated the US’ commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the six assurances. He also dedicated himself to furthering various aspects of Taipei-Washington ties,” the ministry said.
Due to his remarkable contributions to their relationship, Taiwan in 2005 awarded him the Order of Brilliant Star with Violet Grand Cordon, the nation’s highest non-military honor, the ministry said.
Since becoming president of the Project 2049 Institute, Schriver has continued to pay close attention to Taiwan-related issues and has made several visits to the nation, it said.
“Should Schriver’s nomination receive approval from the US Congress, we hope he could build on the existing cooperation framework between the two sides and continue pushing for the positive development of Taiwan-US relations,” the ministry said.
Schriver’s nomination on Friday has attracted much attention as the White House press release for his nomination mentioned the honorary order — although mistakenly identified as the Order of Propitious Clouds in the announcement — that was presented by “the president of Taiwan for service while at the State Department promoting relations between the United States and Taiwan.”
Schriver is considered to be friendly toward Taiwan. He in January allegedly met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) when she transited through Houston, Texas, en route to visiting the nation’s Central American allies.
He led a delegation to Taiwan in March, during which he expressed the hope that any conclusions from the first meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in April would include “all the right things” about Taiwan and Washington’s important relationship with Taipei.
He also ruled out the possibility of a fourth US-China communique in the first Trump-Xi meeting.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
RSS