Taiwan’s new representative to the US, Jason Yuan (袁健生), said upon arriving in Washington on Monday that he expected the US government would eventually approve pending sales of defensive weapons to Taiwan and that he would restore mutual trust between the two sides.
Yuan received a warm welcome from 100 Taiwanese officials and expatriates upon his arrival at the airport on Monday.
Barbara Schrage, managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan, was also present to welcome Yuan.
Schrage said at the airport that the US and Taiwan had long had a solid relationship and that she hoped bilateral relations would become even more robust.
REBUILDING TRUST
At the airport, Yuan said he would use his sincerity to rebuild mutual trust.
As bilateral relations are solid, he said rebuilding trust should not be too difficult, but that it would take time.
Questioned about Washington’s reported “freeze” on the sales of weapons to Taiwan, Yuan told reporters that US government agencies — including the Department of State, the Department of Defense and the National Security Council — had never used the term “freeze.”
Yuan said the US is a country that follows the law and that the Taiwan Relations Act is “a US law.”
As a result, he said he did not believe that any US government official would violate the act and freeze arms deals with Taiwan.
Yuan said he believed that after the US Congress reconvenes, the US government would notify it of its approval of the long-delayed arms package sale to Taiwan.
NO BLOCK
He said he believed Congress would not block the approval.
Congress will adjourn on Sept. 26, meaning the notification — which Congress has 30 days to respond to — would have to be submitted later this month if the arms deal were to be finalized this year.
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