On November 18, Republic of China Representative to the US, Stanley Kao, visited Atlanta. Representative Kao and Mrs. Kao, accompanied by TECO Atlanta Director General Steven Tai and TECO Officer Tony Tai, participated in a panel discussion at CNN with Richard Griffiths, CNN Vice President and Senior Editorial Director; Rick Davis, EVP, News Standards and Practices, CNN Worldwide; Mike McCarthy, SVP, CNN International Programming; and Ram Ramgopal, Executive Editor, CNN.
During the discussion, Representative Kao noted that despite the uncertainty after the recent US presidential election, he has faith that Taiwan and the United States will continue their longstanding relationship of friendship and trade. Kao reminded the panelists that Taiwan is the United States' 9th largest trading partner, and that the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act , and the Six Assurances, commit the US to come to Taiwan's military aid in the event of an invasion from mainland China.
Kao went on to say that the recently inaugurated Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-Wen, plans to open dialogue with mainland China to balance the need to reflect the wariness of many Taiwanese toward mainland China with regional security imperatives.
Despite the US President-Elect's opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership, which Taiwan had hoped to join, Kao remains optimistic that Taiwan will continue to have strategic relevance as a force for peace and prosperity in the region, He said that Taiwan's days as an “Asian Tiger” may have passed, but its focus on creative industries, startups and renewable energy bode well for its economic future.
Kao emphasized that he believes the US and Taiwan will continue their strong relationship that is based on a shared commitment to democratic values.
