President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) 2023 annual meeting via prerecorded video on Tuesday morning. Tsai thanked American society, its government, and the American Veterans of Foreign Wars Association for supporting Taiwan.
Tsai expressed appreciation for bipartisan efforts to strengthen Taiwan-U.S. relations and thanked American society and its government for increasing support, citing the recent arms sale in March, which was the ninth sale of arms to Taiwan.
Tsai said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Veterans Affairs Committee’s Mark Takano’s visit to Taiwan last August, and Tsai’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her transit in the U.S. send an overwhelming message that the U.S. stands with Taiwan.
Tsai pointed out that each year the VFW releases a resolution recognizing Taiwan as a long-time friend of the U.S. and calls for substantive support in defense and security cooperation. Tsai further acknowledged Taiwan’s privilege in learning from organizations like the VFW. She also thanked the veterans for fighting to preserve freedom and democracy.