Why a Taiwan Invasion Would Trigger Trillions in Global Losses | Ambassador Alexander Yui

[RUSH TRANSCRIPT BELOW] An island nation only one-third the size of Virginia, Taiwan produces more than 90 percent of the world’s most advanced chips and more than 90 percent of the servers powering the AI revolution. And last year, Taiwan became the United States’ fourth-largest trading partner—after Mexico, Canada, and China.

More than one-fifth of global maritime trade goes through the Taiwan Strait, according to a Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis, and any conflict over Taiwan would be devastating for the global economy—and likely far worse than the economic disruptions caused by the Iran War.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready for a successful Taiwan invasion by 2027, the PLA’s 100th anniversary.

In this episode, I sit down with Taiwan’s representative to the United States, Ambassador Alexander Yui, to understand why Taiwan matters and what’s at stake as the Chinese Communist Party has ramped up its campaign to isolate, intimidate, and encircle Taiwan in recent years.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s recent visit to Eswatini—Taiwan’s only African ally—had to be abruptly postponed when Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius revoked overflight permissions—presumably due to pressure from Beijing.

“They are constantly harassing our naval and air surroundings, trying to create panic and uneasiness,” Yui says.

Since 2013, Beijing has built more than two dozen militarized outposts in disputed waters in the South China Sea and has recently been militarizing yet another artificial island known as Antelope Reef.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

RUSH TRANSCRIPT

Jan Jekielek:

Ambassador Alexander Yui, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders.

Ambassador Alexander Yui:

Thank you, Jan, for having me on your show.

Mr. Jekielek:

Xi Jinping, the leader of communist China, has said that he wants the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] to be ready to invade Taiwan in 2027. There have been recent actions by the United States in Venezuela, very significant. In Iran, there’s still an Iran war happening. It’s in a ceasefire at the moment. But the question here is, have there been any recalculations in your mind in the People’s Republic of China [PRC]? What is Xi Jinping thinking? How is this affecting things? Are there any changes?

Ambassador Yui:

Of course there are. And I want to point out that as China has mentioned to the United States that Taiwan is the greatest risk factor in the relations between China and the United States. Actually, I believe that it’s the other way around, that the People’s Republic of China is the greatest risk factor for peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and in the Pacific region. They’re the ones who are the aggressors. They’re the ones who are, as you mentioned, militarily preparing for conflict. And the People’s Republic of China has engaged in the largest peacetime military preparedness in human history.

And I think that’s unfounded because their borders are not under threat. But yet, with all the things that are occurring around the world, you mentioned Venezuela, Iran, and others, I think it shows a result from the United States to use the necessary tools to fix problems or achieve its objectives. And obviously, there will be a relevance or reference to that in the Pacific, in particular to the Taiwan Straits.

Mr. Jekielek:

There’s a lot of debate in America about how much security the U.S. should actually be providing to Taiwan, and how important U.S. security is to Taiwan, and how important Taiwan is to America. Can you extrapolate on this question from the Taiwanese perspective?

Ambassador Yui:

Taiwan is relevant for many reasons. First of all, Taiwan is facing a lot of challenges, aggressions from the people who welcome China constantly, militarily, but also coercions from many other aspects, you know, internal gray zone tactics, economic coercion, etc. So there is an actual threat to the existence of Taiwan, to the people of Taiwan as a democracy. The threat that we face is not only ours alone; it’s other countries, Japan, the Philippines, and others. So you ask any country in that region, what is the biggest threat that they’re facing? It is the people of the Republic of China. But why does it matter to the American people?

First of all, we’re part of the first island chain, the line of democracies that are facing and contending with this aggression from mainland China. And it’s not only about Taiwan or Japan, but going beyond that. And NATO Secretary General, He said it very well recently when he was in Washington, D.C., that just as NATO is keeping the Atlantic alliance safe and sound on that part, but also us on the Pacific, we’re also holding the line so United States borders are safe. And I think that matters to the United States for that.

But also, Taiwan has become an important partner to the United States in terms of technology, investment, education, and all sorts of things that we’ve been engaged in for the last few years. So we’ve become a reliable, but also a trusted and important partner with the United States, especially in the age of AI advancements. The United States is intending on preserving AI supremacy and asking partners, including Taiwan, to reach that goal. So to achieve that, Taiwan is a key partner in that. We not only make most of the advanced chips in Taiwan, 95 percent of the chips, but also Taiwanese companies make 90-plus percent of the data servers and the AI servers that run the AI rail. So, we not only do the hardware, but we are also much into this alliance with the United States.

We subscribed to the United States’ Pacific Declaration along with the United States earlier in January, but we also signed a memorandum with the United States on economic security, on red earth collaboration, etc., and also the importance of maintaining a safe supply chain, meaning a non-red supply chain in special technological fields. So all that matters to what the United States is. And also, we’re well aware that the well-being of Taiwan is ours to care for. So we’ve been told that the United States should not care more about Taiwan’s security than the people of Taiwan. And we do.

So we’re increasing our defense expenditures. We’re trying to pass a $40 billion additional budget to procure more arms and be more up to date with the way we conduct asymmetric warfare against a larger contender. And those are the things that we’re doing. And that’s why we appreciate the United States’ longstanding support of Taiwan based on the Taiwan Relations Act [TRA] and the Six Assurances. This gives some stability to Taiwan. We have subscribed to the peace through strength theory, and we are doing whatever we can to do that, not only on the military side but also on whole society resiliency, military reserves, etc. So we are doing our best to preserve our democracy, but we also appreciate friends such as the United States and others who are helping us maintain our freedom.

Mr. Jekielek:

So you mentioned peace through strength. How important is that?

Ambassador Yui:

Peace through strength is the mantra that is being said in the United States, but we also follow that very closely. We believe in peace through strength. As we want to achieve peace, we love to negotiate, willing to negotiate with the PRC about the peace stability of the Taiwan Strait, but you negotiate from a position of strength, not of weakness. So having a strong defense is the best way forward, and also the best way to defend oneself, you know, when facing a larger aggressor or enemy.

So for Taiwan, we’ve been, for the last few years, doing a lot of expenditure on improving our self-defense capabilities. We’ve actually almost doubled our defense expenditure over the last 10 years to better modernize our equipment, the local production of more missiles and arms, and even airplanes and submarines, all that to show to all friends that we are ready to do whatever it takes for ourselves to defend ourselves better.

But at the same time, again, as I mentioned at the beginning, the threat is not only for Taiwan, but also for countries in the region. So for us to be able to better know ourselves during peacetime and what to do during a crisis, the interoperability of our forces and the intercommunication of our forces is important. I think in the United States’ national security strategy that was announced late last year, it was very clear on the United States’ focus, obviously, on the Western Hemisphere, which is their priority, but it also made several mentions about the peace stability of the Indo-Pacific in particular, and also about Taiwan, where the United States mentioned that it does not support a change of the status quo from either side, especially not through military or economic coercion. People in political China are trying to internalize the waters between Taiwan and mainland China, the Taiwan Straits.

Mr. Jekielek:

Actually, I just got word that they’re starting to build on another reef.

Ambassador Yui:

Yes, that’s not an accident. They’ve said that before when they were building these huge bases in the South China Sea, that we shouldn’t worry because it was for humanitarian reasons, it was a place to house fishermen in times of storms, or house planes for search and rescue, and that we shouldn’t be concerned. But now they’re full-fledged military bases with missiles and fighters and bombers, etc. So yes, we should be worried to prevent unnecessary aggression against us.

But the region itself, the Taiwan Straits itself, any conflict in those straits will cause a crisis much larger than what is happening in Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. There have been several studies about what would happen in the trillions and trillions of dollars. It’s not only Taiwan’s ports that will be affected or Taiwan’s trade that will be affected. It will affect China’s trade ports, Japan, and Korea.

So it’s something that is almost unimaginable if a crisis happens to that. There’s a lot at stake, not only for us, the countries in the region, but also for the United States, which is obviously a main commercial partner with us and the region. Again, NATO Secretary General mentioned that NATO cannot overlook what happens in the Indo-Pacific because it has direct stakes for European countries as well.

Mr. Jekielek:

So the Chinese Communist Party, for years now and in an accelerating fashion, has been sort of violating Taiwanese airspace with its fighter jets and so forth to the point where I’ve had people call me from Taiwan saying, I’m seeing them. It happens often, and it’s loud, and it’s significant. So maybe just explain that, because I don’t think a lot of people understand what this is and how it’s interpreted by the Taiwanese government.

Ambassador Yui:

First of all, I want to go to the basics. The People’s Republic of China, led by the Chinese Communist regime, was formed on October 1st, 1949. Since their conception, they have never had control or rule over Taiwan, which is where the seat of the government of the Republic of China is. So their claims on Taiwan are fictitious, because they never really controlled Taiwan.

They’re trying to say, Taiwan is ours because historically it’s a part of China, and we’re China, so it’s ours. Well, if you use historical facts to claim something, then again, Mongolia can claim China because it’s part of the Mongolian Empire. And then what about all the lands that China lost to Russia? So it’s a never-ending story.

Mr. Jekielek:

The bottom line is you’re saying the People’s Republic of China has never had Taiwan under its auspices.

Ambassador Yui:

Now they’re making these claims and trying to have the international community say that, yes, you have to recognize that we own Taiwan. If not, we’ll conquer it militarily. Or they’re using this misuse of the United Nations Resolutions 2758, which has nothing to do with Taiwan. But he said that article means that we own it. He’s trying to create this international legal basis to claim Taiwan, which, again, if you look at the article, it doesn’t mention Taiwan at all. It also only makes reference to who represents China in the United Nations.

But as the Chinese military has grown stronger, and they have obviously spent a lot of money to strengthen their military, they’ve become bolder. They used the visit of Speaker Pelosi to Taiwan as an excuse; they say, you crossed the line, we’re going to start, you know, pressing you.

There used to be a median line in the Taiwan Strait, between Taiwan and mainland China, that both sides respected. You know, their planes and militaries would basically not cross each other’s medium line, but after that, they crossed the line, harassing Taiwanese surrounding airspace and naval. They haven’t really reached Taiwan’s airspace yet nor naval, you know, or territorial waters. They’ve been on the identification zones nearby, but on a constant basis depending on the date, sometimes more, sometimes less. We’re constantly harassing our naval and air surroundings, trying to coerce Taiwan to create panic and uneasiness within the Chinese, Taiwanese society. But that’s only the part that you see, which is the military part.

But the PRC has also been using other means to create dissension or create disability or nervousness within Taiwan, trying to, but not really working, through, again, these raison tactics, cutting off our cables that communicate with the outside world, trying to drive wedges between our different political parties, using disinformation, cyber attacks, and other means to try to destabilize Taiwan from within. And that’s something that we’re already facing, and that’s part of the aggression that China is using against us. But that’s just an example of what we face; they do that to other parties, including the United States.

Mr. Jekielek:

I want to dig into that a little bit. The Taiwanese president was actually unable to travel to an important event because presumably China coerced a number of African countries to deny airspace access. I want to talk about that. But explain to me a little more about how we are to understand the leader of the single major opposition party in Taiwan traveling to Beijing, meeting with Xi Jinping, and ostensibly having incredibly warm relations. How are we supposed to read that here?

Ambassador Yui:

Again, the fact that they talk to each other is good. It reduces misunderstandings. For example, even President Trump’s pending trip to Beijing to meet President Xi, or the chairwoman from the Kuomintang Party [KMT] visiting Beijing and meeting Chairman Xi. I think these are positive in the way that they create communication, reduce miscommunication or misunderstandings, and will hopefully be conducive to peace and stability. But what people in the Republic of China should be aware of is that the Republic of China in Taiwan is a sovereign, democratic, and independent country. And we are a democracy that has an elected government.

So while he’s talking to one party in Taiwan, we also urge them to talk to all parties in Taiwan, including the party that is in government, which is the DPP government, the ruling party. But I think they’ve been unwilling to do so because somehow they still think that the China-Taiwan debacle is something of a historical CCP-KMT struggle, and therefore they’re not willing to talk to the other parties. But again, they should recognize the fact that we are a democracy, and people in Taiwan. choose their leaders, choose their governments every four years. And currently, the party that is in government is the Democratic Progressive Party. They should also talk to them.

Mr. Jekielek:

Yes, and I’ll elucidate this a little bit, because, so it’s, in fact, the party that basically landed in Taiwan and set up a government in Taiwan, the KMT, that is now the party that is developing those relations with the mainland.

Ambassador Yui:

Well, I mean, the fact that they approach each other and talk to each other, again, as long as it’s conducive to peace, it’s okay.

Mr. Jekielek:

Well, except that they’re denying, you know, the same people that are having these conversations, they’re denying your president access to going to a conference in an African country.

Ambassador Yui:

That’s the problem, because you cannot pretend that things are rosy when they’re talking to each other, you know, as if between the Taiwanese and Chinese people in mainland China, things are okay. But what happens outside of it, then they still treat us as rebels, you know, and therefore not recognize who we are. Our president’s recent actions, you know, had to cancel in the world.

As a matter of fact, last year, 2025, we became the United States’ fourth largest trading partner. So while the King and Queen of England are visiting the United States now, you must be aware that we do more trade with the United States than the United Kingdom does trade with the United States. But while the King of England is traveling to the United States and other places, my president has been prevented, because of the PRC’s coercion of other countries, from trying to isolate Taiwan politically and internationally. And that’s something that we think is unjustified and unfair.

But also, it relates to the fact that there is the caveat of working with or investing in or doing business with people from local China because they will weaponize things according to their interests. For example, my president’s intended flight to Africa was stopped because they coerced a few countries in Africa to cancel the already permitted passages through their flight information region. But at the same time, there are similar events that people from local China are doing.

For example, in Panama, there was a court ruling on ports regarding who controls the ports in Panama. And because the PRC didn’t like it, they started coercing Panamanian flagships in China by inducing undue inspections and harassing Panamanian ships, which, including the United States and other countries, also voiced their opposition to weaponizing maritime safety for their own needs. And that’s the danger of doing business with China. And that’s the same reason why Taiwan, which used to be heavily invested in China, is decoupling from the Chinese presence.

For example, 12 years ago, almost 85 percent of our foreign direct investment was going to mainland China because that’s where our factories were. That’s 12 years ago. Two years ago, our direct investment in China came down to less than 7 percent. Last year, it was less than 4 percent of our FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] going to China. Because why? China is an unreliable partner. They’re willing to weaponize and coerce us if they think it suits them. And that’s not a healthy environment to do business.

But it’s not only Taiwan that’s diminishing its investment; it’s the United States, Japan, and other countries that are also having the same feelings and are leaving China. But where are Taiwan’s investments going? Two years ago, 40 percent of FDI was coming to the United States. And that’s so we have a bustling commercial investment relationship with the United States based on our common values.

Mr. Jekielek:

I’m trying to figure out who the other countries are, because you said the top four. One of them is Canada, I know.

Ambassador Yui:

Well, yes.

Mr. Jekielek:

And another one is Taiwan.

Ambassador Yui:

No, the only countries that do more trade with the United States than Taiwan are your neighbors, Canada and Mexico, and China. And we were fourth. And also last year, for the first time in, I don’t know when, many, many decades, Taiwanese exports to the United States were larger than Chinese exports to the United States. It’s little Taiwan exporting more. But partly because Taiwanese factories that were in China exporting to the United States have now left. And now they’re exporting from elsewhere, from the United States, from Canada, producing in the United States, exporting from Mexico and other regions.

And one other fact to highlight Taiwan’s relevance in the economy and to the world: Last week, we replaced the UK as the seventh largest stock market. And this week, we also overcame Canada as the sixth largest stock market. So Taiwan economically is relevant to the world, but yet politically, internationally, we’ve been facing this blockage from people who come to China for us to be able to act normally in an international scene. And that’s something that we’ve been appealing to the world, that Taiwan deserves to have a space in the international arena.

Mr. Jekielek:

You know, another thing that always impresses me about Taiwan is the kind of robust democracy, you know, that votes are counted instantly; it’s like a public phenomenon. It’s like a party, basically, to vote, counting on the day of the election. It’s something to behold. Maybe we’ll cut in a little clip of what that looks like, because I think that it’s kind of inspiring, actually.

Ambassador Yui:

It’s low-tech, but it works. People get to look at it personally. Inspectors from each party do the balloting and counting. And it’s very low-key. Just show up, show your ballot, count, and then you put a little scratch in the window. . But it’s very effective. By the same night, we already know who has won, and in most elections, that’s the case. But yes, that’s democracy at work, and it works.

Mr. Jekielek:

I’ll just add one more thing, which is that the GDP [gross domestic product] per capita in Taiwan is three times that of China. And a lot of people, I like to mention this fact because every time I mention it, almost every time, people say, really? How is that possible? I’m unabashedly a fan of Taiwan here. I’ll add one more thing here. This is just something that struck me.

One of the criticisms leveled against the U.S. and other countries that have been democracies for a very long time, much longer than Taiwan, is that they’ve gotten too comfortable. And so I’m wondering how much you think just this very fact that Taiwan’s freedom is always a bit of a question mark, given this totalitarian dictatorship on the edge saying, we’re going to take you over when we feel like it. How much do you think that might actually contribute to this kind of robustness around democracy, about the economy, all these areas?

Ambassador Yui:

It is a hard struggle. Since I was born in Taiwan many, many decades ago, we were already confronting this situation, which is a menace from the other side, mainland China, towards the survival of the people in Taiwan. And so facing this threat, we’ve learned to be self-reliant. And as we had to leave, we were founding members of the United Nations, mind you, but then things changed and we eventually had to be forced to leave the United Nations. Many countries cut relations with Taiwan.

So at one point, it was a fairly sad situation, a grim and dim situation in Taiwan, feeling like the world was leaving Taiwan, being cast aside, being orphans of the world. So we never gave up, being self-reliant and working on things that we think are correct. At the same time, we were developing our democracy. As a matter of fact, as the United States celebrates 250 years of being a democratic republic, we’re celebrating 30 years of direct presidential elections. We had our first general suffrage for the citizens to be able to elect their own president in the year 2000. So we are very proud of our achievements.

At the same time, we developed our economy. We tried to link with the world in terms of economy. And we’ve been fairly successful. This evolution from an authoritarian government in the past, evolving to a full democracy in Taiwan, was sort of a fairly peaceful transition. There were some struggles, but generally speaking, it was a peaceful transition. Our per capita income in 1949 was probably less than $100. But now we’re doing pretty well. In certain cases, our per capita has even surpassed that of Korea. But again, we’re not sitting on our laurels; we know that it’s a constant struggle, and we’ll continue to do so.

At the same time, many countries, although they don’t have formal relations with Taiwan, such as the United States and Japan, acknowledge that it’s not the same as heeding the people’s response to China’s claim of this one China principle, which includes, Taiwan is mine, and asserts that there is one big China, including Taiwan. They want every single other country to recognize their principle.

In fact, many countries have their own one China policy that differs greatly from the PRC’s one China principle. In each country’s China policy, they can assert their own way of dealing with China while also addressing Taiwan. As I mentioned earlier, in the case of the United States, they have a one China policy, but at the same time, they have this Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, based on which there is thriving, I guess, support for Taiwan from the United States. This support is very strong; it’s the law of the land.

Moreover, although China constantly says, you agreed that you were going to diminish the sale of arms to Taiwan, the United States has also mentioned that the sale of arms to Taiwan is commensurate with the threat that Taiwan is facing. As anyone can attest to nowadays, the threat level to Taiwan is very, very high. So for us to acquire necessary defensive weapons is more than justified.

Again, we appreciate the fact that the United States, based on the TRA, is selling arms to Taiwan and also helping Taiwan to defend itself better. It is our responsibility, and we will do so. We appreciate our friends helping us do that better, and we’re more than happy to be working with our friends and allies.

Mr. Jekielek:

So I recently had Peter Mattis, who runs the Jamestown Foundation, on the show, and we talked a lot about one of his areas of particular expertise, the United Front Work Department. Just again, for the benefit of our audience who might not know, they can watch that episode. This is a whole department or ministry committed to subverting civil society both within China and in other places, like Taiwan or the United States. It is very active, incredibly well-funded, and one of the highest-funded ministries or departments in China. What can America learn from how Taiwan has been dealing with this? You mentioned asymmetrical warfare. This is one of their tools of asymmetrical warfare, probably even the most potent one. We could debate that. What can America learn about those United Front tactics and how they affect Taiwan?

Ambassador Yui:

As I mentioned, PRC spends a lot of money on defense or military procurement. It has one of the largest armies in the world, certainly the largest navy in the world. They have, you know, the lobby is so large that it obviously goes beyond the need for territorial defense, and PRC has engaged in the largest peacetime military procurement and strengthening while their borders are not under threat. So the biggest threat comes from people who talk about China militarily.

But the thing is, the PRC spends more money on internal control than on its military, including the United Front. The United Front, what it does is basically political warfare, propaganda, or trying to dissuade you through different means to acknowledge how the world looks according to their view, you know, for example. And then you have TikTok, you know, which again, I’m very happy that the United States has arranged some, made some arrangements to prevent the effect of Chinese TikTok being done on the United States, because TikTok, I’ve said, is cyber fentanyl. You know, TikTok is, you know, videos, they, you know, they’re harmless, they’re funny, they’re, you know, inside of all that they spread disinformation in those, you know, airtime that which is, you know, people very easily swallow because it’s, you know, irrelevant, it’s funny, and then you start swallowing, but in the midst of that, they start putting these messages to try to form your view according to theirs. Again, through media, through a talk show, and through infiltration of government officials or key people in government and society, they try to transform the mentality.

For example, they’ve been trying to nurture this notion that the United States is an unreliable partner. And they have this messaging on the internet, on airwaves, etc. The United States will not be there to help you when things get bad because they only want to earn money from you. They’re capitalists; all they care about is money, etc. And they continuously try to brainwash us that this is the case and that they’re the good guys. We’re with them; all things will be good. But you have to be subjected to us.

And then you believe the people of Hong Kong. People in Hong Kong are not happy, although they try to say through TikTok that Hong Kong is great, the Uyghurs are happy, everything is good, and even that China is a democracy. Who in the world thinks China is a democracy? But that’s the way they’re trying to portray themselves as being, which is a fictitious world that they’re trying to have us swallow, which is not true.

Mr. Jekielek:

Right. I mean, you mentioned talk shows and influencers, all sorts of influencers, right? That’s a big thing today.

Ambassador Yui:

And not only Chinese, but they use foreigners to try to do that, so that the words coming from a foreigner must be true, and they try to say, well, he’s one of us, so what he said must be true. And that’s part of the messaging, the false messaging they’re trying to convey to the audience outside of China.

Mr. Jekielek:

Yes, and I’m just thinking, man, that’s a very powerful vector.

Ambassador Yui:

It is.

Mr. Jekielek:

But it’s only one part of the United Front.

Ambassador Yui:

Yes, there are so many more. Yes, there are so many.

Mr. Jekielek:

Mr. Ambassador, you mentioned that Taiwan-U.S. trade is on the rise, while CCP-U.S. trade is on the decline. Where are these areas of growth? And I’ll add a caveat to that. Clearly, you’ve invested a huge amount of money in TSMC [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company] in Arizona and are building these super top chip plants in the United States. Can you explain to me how that factors into this?

Ambassador Yui:

The thriving and ever-growing trade relationship between Taiwan and the United States is happening partly because of the coupling from China, but also due to the common values that we have in terms of investment, in terms of what we do together. I mentioned AI development. We want to make sure that the AI [artificial intelligence] realm, which is a new industrial revolution that’s happening all around us, and AI will be part of our lives, ensures that this AI is an AI that works for good, that helps human beings and does not restrict human behavior.

So we want to make sure that we maintain this supremacy in AI and work together with the United States. In that sense, Taiwanese investments in the United States have continued to grow, mainly in technology, particularly semiconductors. You mentioned TSMC. They’re building six fabrication plants in Phoenix, two packaging facilities, and one research center. And it’s bustling; if you go to Phoenix, you see this growth. It was just empty land.

Mr. Jekielek:

It’s quite unbelievable. Yes, I saw it recently.

Ambassador Yui:

And it’s really encouraging to see the fruits of the labor between the Taiwanese and American workforces to do that. But also, in January and February of this year, we signed a memorandum on investments between Taiwan and the United States, as well as an agreement on reciprocal trade, which, after 10 months of negotiations, means that the United States and Taiwan will reach an agreement that basically deals with most of the details on bilateral trade. Some of the items that for many, many years, even decades, we were not able to solve will be addressed in that, and we’ll have a set tariff, you know, like the ones with Japan and others.

But that brings us to a Taiwanese pledge that we will be investing $250 billion from Taiwanese companies into the United States in the places and items that Taiwanese companies see as fit. Also, the government of Taiwan will make available $250 billion worth of credit guarantees to our companies who want to invest in manufacturing in the United States. So all that is happening, plus the upcoming SelectUSA Investment Summit, which is happening in early May. We will have some good news to announce then. I’ll leave it to the delegation to make the announcements.

But at the same time, there’s one piece of the puzzle still left that will encourage further interaction and investment in the United States, and that’s the United States-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act that passed the House of Representatives last year, 423 to 1, and now it’s in the Senate, pending approval. I hope that the Senate will approve that because we’re the only major trading partner with the United States that still does not enjoy avoidance of double taxation.

It means that because of that, Taiwanese companies in the United States have to pay double taxes. Their employees have to pay double taxes to U.S. and Taiwanese agencies. And likewise, American companies going to Taiwan have to do the same, but not so in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, etc. So it is unjustified or unjust, and we hope that this will remediate and with the passage of the United States-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act, you can certainly see more encouragement for Taiwanese companies to be in the United States. So hopefully, that will be able to be accomplished in the very short future.

Mr. Jekielek:

Well, Mr. Ambassador, a quick final thought as we finish?

Ambassador Yui:

With the U.S.-Taiwan relations, in 1979, diplomatic relations ended, and it was the low point of our relations. But luckily, because of Congress’s passage of the Taiwan Relations Act, it gave us a legal basis for how to interact with each other. And since then, actually, our relations have grown steadily and bustling, and now we say that it’s a rock-solid partnership between Taiwan and the United States. So we’re all in to make the United States’ objective of remanufacturing or having a manufacturing renaissance in the United States. If it’s our purpose to do so, we work very closely with the United States in making this a reality of manufacturing, technology, and also fits Taiwan’s strategy to be here, expanding our footprint of manufacturing in the United States.

It fits the purposes, but at the same time, highlighting the achievements and celebration of democracy, the 250th anniversary of the United States as a democracy, and so as Taiwan’s 30th anniversary of the President’s election. So many things that are valuable, likewise, in terms of technology, in terms of values, in terms of what we want to do together. And I think this is one of the highlights, one of the best moments between Taiwan and U.S. relations. Well, Ambassador

Mr. Jekielek:

Ambassador Yui, it’s such a pleasure to have had you on.

Ambassador Yui:

Thank you, Jan. Thank you for having me.

This interview was partially edited for clarity and brevity.