Taipei-Sandra Oudkirk, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), met with more Taiwanese officials this week to discuss United States-Taiwan cooperation in a range of fields, including cyber security and health.
Oudkirk, who arrived in Taiwan in July, has met with Justice Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang (???), Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (???) and Legislative Yuan speaker You Si-kun (???) during the past three days.
According to a press statement from the Ministry of Justice, Oudkirk visited Tsai on Tuesday and the officials discussed how Taiwan and the United States can work together to enhance cyber security, protect human rights, combat graft and corruption, money laundering, terrorism and illegal drugs.
Oudkirk told Tsai that cyber security is an important issue and the U.S. is willing to work with Taiwan in this area while finding ways to strike a balance between preventing criminal activity and protecting human rights in the cyber world.
The de facto U.S. ambassador in Taiwan met Chen on Wednesday, according to a Facebook post by AIT on Thursday.
During the meeting, Oudkirk stressed the importance of continued collaboration with Taiwan on health issues, working together on shared challenges, and supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations, the Facebook post said.
She visited You at the Legislative Yuan on Thursday and discussed information security in government agencies, fake news management and Taiwan-U.S. economic exchanges in a 60-minute closed-door meeting, according to a press statement from the legislature.
You expressed gratitude for U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s strong commitment to Taiwan on Wednesday amid worries among some Taiwanese over the U.S. departure from Afghanistan, which resulted in the Taliban taking the capital Kabul, the statement said.
Oudkirk was previously posted to Taiwan as a consular officer at AIT from 1992 to 1994.
Prior to the recent courtesy calls, Oudkirk met President Tsai Ing-wen (???), Vice President Lai Ching-te (???), National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (???) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (???) last week.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel