President Lai meets AIT Taipei Office Director Raymond Greene

On the morning of July 10, President Lai Ching-te met with Raymond Greene, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei Office. In remarks, President Lai emphasized that Taiwan and the United States are staunch partners that actively help maintain peaceful and stable development throughout the region, and said that he looks forward to our economic and trade ties continuing to deepen. The president said that with Director Greene’s wealth of experience and strong support for Taiwan, the Taiwan-US partnership will surely continue to deepen in all manner of fields.

A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows:

I extend a warm welcome to Director Greene as he officially assumes his new post. Director Greene has long been a dear friend of Taiwan, having already served twice at the AIT Taipei Office. During his term as deputy director, he did much to facilitate close cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the US.

Director Greene also has an insightful and expert understanding of Taiwan-US affairs and the regional landscape. With Taiwan-US ties now closer than ever before, I believe that Director Greene’s presence in Taiwan will help elevate them even further.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act. I would like to thank the US government once again for continuing to fulfill its commitments to Taiwan. This includes the 15 military sales announced by President Joe Biden’s administration, which have demonstrated US support for Taiwan’s security.

Taiwan and the US are staunch partners that actively help maintain peaceful and stable development throughout the region. Despite facing China’s constant challenges and attempts to alter the cross-strait status quo, Taiwan is a responsible member of the international community and will do its utmost to maintain the status quo. And we will work closely with the US and other like-minded countries to contribute to regional prosperity and development.

I look forward to Taiwan-US economic and trade ties continuing to deepen, including advancing the second round of negotiation for the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, and swiftly resolving the double taxation issue. Meanwhile, in response to the global AI wave, we have set ourselves the goal of transforming Taiwan into an AI island. We believe that there are abundant opportunities for Taiwan and the US to work together and conduct exchanges in AI and other innovative sectors. With Director Greene’s wealth of experience and strong support for Taiwan, the Taiwan-US partnership will surely continue to deepen in all manner of fields.

Director Greene, seeing you again reminds me of our trip to Alishan’s Tfuya Historic Trail three years ago. You, your wife, and I joined a number of representatives to Taiwan in an in-depth experience of Taiwan’s indigenous culture. Every representative to Taiwan acts as a window through which their countries can understand Taiwan and as a link for Taiwan to connect to the world. Once again, I welcome you back to Taiwan. I look forward to working together to raise Taiwan-US relations to even greater heights.

Director Greene then delivered remarks in Mandarin, congratulating President Lai on his inauguration and saying he is honored to be given the opportunity to work with the president and his team to advance US-Taiwan relations at this important time.

Regarding President Lai’s election victory, the director said he is not at all surprised. Director Greene indicated that 20 years ago, President Lai, then a member of the Legislative Yuan, accepted the nomination to participate in the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, an exchange program that invests in future leaders around the world. The director said that at the time, as a young AIT political officer, he had told the Department of State that then-legislator Lai was very likely to be a future president of Taiwan. Since that time, the director said, he had enjoyed interacting with President Lai in Taipei, Tainan, and Washington, DC in his roles as legislator, mayor, premier, and vice president.

Director Greene emphasized that the US remains committed to supporting Taiwan’s ability to defend itself. He said both Taiwan and the US have a shared and abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and this is critical for the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the world. The US will continue to support Taiwan, he said, in accordance with the longstanding US policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiqués, and Six Assurances.

Director Greene stated that he is looking forward to working together to enhance the already rock-solid US-Taiwan ties across economic, cultural, people-to-people, and technology fields. He said that Taiwan is a critical US economic and trading partner as well as for promoting global supply chain resilience. Director Greene said that the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, launched two years ago, provides another opportunity to deepen our economic ties. On the people-to-people front, he said, Taiwan currently has one of the largest Fulbright programs in the world, and the US-Taiwan Education Initiative provides us a forum to expand language learning and teaching in support of shared priorities.

Director Greene said that although Taiwan and the US face an increasingly complex set of challenges, we have a longstanding partnership that is only getting stronger by the day. He said he is confident that with the support of the international community of democracies, we can preserve Taiwan’s democracy, promote prosperity in the US and Taiwan, and take our relationship to new heights.

*The English version of Director Greene’s remarks is based on the official version published on AIT’s website.