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.
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