Visiting former US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Keith Krach yesterday presented President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) with a Tech Freedom Award in recognition of her contribution to tech diplomacy and commitment to advancing freedom.
As chairman of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and cochair of the Global Tech Security Commission, Krach gave the award to Tsai “on behalf of the Krach Institute and free people everywhere around the world.”
“May our partnership continue to flourish and inspire the world. God bless you, President Tsai. God bless the people of Taiwan. We salute you. We admire you. We honor you with the Tech Freedom Award,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Following his previous trip to Taiwan three years ago as a government official, this time he came “as a friend,” Krach said.
Taiwan and the US have bonded based on common values and were both founded on the belief that “there is no prosperity without freedom,” he said.
Taiwan was at the heart of the US global economic security strategy when he served as undersecretary of state, as it is a beacon of democracy and the embodiment of liberty, has remarkable achievements in technological innovation and is a true friend of the US, Krach added.
The Science and Technology Agreement signed by Taipei and Washington in 2020, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s investment in the US “lay a foundation for a future free-trade agreement,” which is “long overdue,” Krach said.
“Technology must advance freedom” is the objective shared by both the institute and the commission, he added.
The commission is tasked by the US Congress to create a global tech security strategy to ensure that “technology serves humanity and isn’t weaponized against us by authoritarian regimes,” he said.
He welcomed Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) to the commission after she was tapped to be Taiwan’s representative.
Bolstering Taiwan’s prosperity, international standing and sovereignty is “a critical imperative” of the strategy, so the commission is to launch the Taiwan Center for Innovation and Prosperity, he said.
“Without a strong, resilient [and] free Taiwan, freedom everywhere will be imperiled by authoritarianism,” he said.
China is threatened by Taiwan because “free and prosperous Taiwan shatters [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s [習近平] myth that the Chinese culture cannot thrive as a democracy, but it does,” Krach said.
The US and free countries around the globe stand with Taiwan, not only to demonstrate solidarity among democracies, but also because it is in their economic, technological, scientific and national security interest, he said.
Tsai thanked Krach for his staunch friendship with Taiwan, citing as examples his work to establish the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue and signing of the Science and Technology Agreement.
Taiwan hopes to further deepen cooperation and exchanges with the US and expedite the signing of an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, which would create more opportunities for bilateral investment, she said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as