The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday celebrated ties between the US and Taiwan through musical performances, with Director Sandra Oudkirk calling the partnership “rock solid.”
The AIT held the “AIT@45 Music Exchange Encore!” concert at the Eslite Performance Hall in Taipei to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the promulgation of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, when the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan was founded.
The AIT was created to carry out “programs, transactions and other relations conducted or carried out by the [US] President or any agency of the United States Government with respect to Taiwan,” Section 6 of the act states.
Photo: Yang Yao-ju, Taipei Times
The act “established the foundation for the continuation of commercial, cultural and other relations between the people of the United States and Taiwan,” Oudkirk said.
Celebrating “45 years of the rock-solid partnership” between the US and Taiwan through music symbolized the profound effect cultural exchanges can have on people-to-people ties, she said.
The US Department of State has been promoting international exchange programs since 1940 to facilitate mutual understanding of foreign cultures and cultivate ties that transcend national borders, she said, adding that more than 3,000 people from Taiwan have participated.
As part of that effort, the AIT has worked with the State Department to organize cultural exchange programs, including the Youth Leadership Exchange Program, OneBeat, the International Visitor Leadership Program and Center Stage, she said.
Most of the performers at yesterday’s concert were previous participants, whose dedication to their craft and the role they play as cultural representatives embody “the spirit of cooperation and friendship that defines the relationship between the United States and Taiwan,” she said.
Theater, film and music are great mediums to understand people, as they embody human desires and aspirations, which are especially true in a democratic society where conversations about social issues are welcomed without threat of persecution, she said.
The AIT named the concert “encore” to show its commitment to promoting cultural exchanges and “the deepening of international friendships,” she said.
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