The United States will work with the winner of Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, regardless of which candidate prevails. That’s according to American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairperson Laura Rosenberger, who made the comments while speaking to Taiwanese media on Monday. Rosenberger arrived in Taipei on Monday as part of a 6-day trip to Taiwan.
Rosenberger says Taiwan is a beacon of democracy in the region, and that the U.S. will not stand in the way of Taiwan's election, adding that the U.S. opposes interference by any foreign forces. She says she met with some presidential candidates during her previous trip to Taiwan, and hopes to continue meeting with candidates across the political spectrum.
Rosenberger was asked whether Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) might be able to attend the upcoming leaders meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in San Francisco. She says that Taiwan is a very important APEC partner, and has already sent ministerial-level representatives to participate. She gave the example of trade representative John Deng (鄧振中), who participated in the APEC ministerial meeting last month.
Taiwan has participated in the APEC meetings under the name “Chinese Taipei” since 1991. However, no Taiwanese president has ever attended the leaders summit, instead appointing a “special envoy” to represent Taiwan each year.
Rosenberger also says that the U.S. is working on solving the problem of double taxation faced by Taiwanese firms doing business in the country. She adds that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told the Congress that her department is actively seeking solutions to the problem.