Speaking at an annual meeting with overseas Taiwanese in Washington, Norris said the US will continue to commit to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), the US legislation governing relations with Taiwan. The Asia-Pacific region is of interest to the US and peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait benefits the US, he said. The TRA also requires the US “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character.”Taiwan’s representative to the US Stanley Kao (高碩泰), who also attended the meeting, said he is optimistic about Taiwan-US relations under the Trump administration. He also told the representatives that Taiwan understands the importance Trump attaches to the US economy and his “America first” policy, as well as his questioning of Beijing’s “one China” principle, he said. Yu said he made it clear that Taiwan wants to sign a free-trade agreement with the US to consolidate bilateral economic and trade relations.

Source: Taipei Times January 22, 2017 16:01 UTC