Former U.S. Government Officials Visit Taiwan to Meet with DPP's Li Ching-de and Others

Former U.S. government officials met in Taipei on the 15th with Mr. Li Ching-de of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, who won the presidential election in Taiwan, and others.

The meeting was led by Mr. Hadley, who served as an assistant to the president for security policy in the Republican Bush administration, and Mr. Steinberg, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration of the Democratic Party.

From the Taiwanese side, Ms. Xiao Meiqin, who served as the Taiwanese government's representative to the United States and was elected as a vice presidential candidate in combination with Mr. Li, was also in attendance.

At the meeting, Li emphasized that "the United States congratulated me immediately after the election and sent a bipartisan representative of a heavyweight to Taiwan to congratulate me and Mikoto, which fully demonstrates our strong support for Taiwan's democracy."

He said, "As the leader of Taiwan, I will continue to protect the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait based on the foundation laid by President Tsai Ing-wen, and I hope that the United States will continue to support Taiwan," and expressed his intention to inherit President Tsai's line of relations with China, which has earned the trust of the United States through her cautious words and actions.

Prior to this, Mr. Hadley and others also met with President Tsai at the Presidential Palace. President Tsai said, "I hope that the relationship between Taiwan and the United States will continue to move forward and become an important driving force for regional and global development."

On the other hand, Mr. Hadley said, "I hope that the relationship between the United States and Taiwan will continue under the new administration and that we will work together to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," and confirmed that the two sides will work together to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait as China increases military pressure on Taiwan.

The U.S. side emphasized that it was doing this visit as a private citizen in accordance with precedent, and it seems that the U.S. side was careful not to overly provoke China, which opposes official visits between the United States and Taiwan.