January 10, 2024
Ambassador Alexander Tah-ray Yui, Taiwan’s Representative to the United States, met with US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson in Washington, DC, for the first time on January 9. In remarks to the press before the meeting, Speaker Johnson publicly declared that the United States stood shoulder to shoulder with the Taiwanese people and that this was an important issue for the United States and the entire world. He stated that the United States wanted to assist in defending Taiwan and deterring military provocations by the Chinese Communist Party. He reaffirmed that the US Congress stood with Taiwan and for democracy and the principles that Taiwan has been trying to advance. Stating that the United States wished to strengthen US-Taiwan ties, Speaker Johnson called this meeting with Ambassador Yui a show of staunch support for the bilateral relationship.
Speaking on behalf of the people and government of Taiwan, Ambassador Yui thanked the US Congress for its long-standing bipartisan support to enhance Taiwan’s security, safeguard Taiwan’s democratic system, and promote the bilateral economic partnership. He stated that the robust Taiwan-US relationship was based on such shared values as freedom and democracy and expressed the hope to continue working with Speaker Johnson and the US Congress so as to further strengthen the rock-solid friendship between the two countries.
Since assuming his post, Ambassador Yui has worked proactively to establish good communication with all sectors of the United States. This meeting between the House speaker and Taiwan’s representative to the United States further underscored the firm bipartisan Congressional support for Taiwan and the strong backing for Taiwan among Congressional leaders. The government of Taiwan will continue to steadily advance bilateral cooperation with the Congress, the administration, and friends from all sectors of the United States, thereby deepening the comprehensive Taiwan-US partnership.