Date: July 10, 2018
MAC Press Release No. 46
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said today (July 10, 2018) that it has entrusted the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy to co-host with the Heritage Foundation an international symposium on "The Opportunities and Challenges of Cross-Strait Relations" on July 18 (US Eastern Standard Time). MAC Minister Chen Ming-tong will attend the opening ceremony of the one-day symposium and present a speech.
The MAC indicated that domestic scholars participating in the symposium include Taiwan Foundation for Democracy Vice Presidents Ketty W. Chen and Yeh-Chung Lu, President of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research Lin Cheng-yi, Professor Emeritus Arthur S. Ding of the Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies at National Chengchi University, Associate Research Fellow David Wei-Feng Huang of the Institute of European and American Studies at Academia Sinica, Prospect Foundation President I-Chung Lai, and Professor Chin-Fu Hung of the Department of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University. Scholars participating from the US include Heritage Foundation Executive Vice President Dr. Kim Holmes, Director of the Asian Studies Center Walter Lohman, Senior Research Fellow Dean Cheng, Research Fellow Jeff M. Smith, and Policy Analyst Riley Walters, as well as Director Philip C. Saunders of the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at National Defense University, President of the International Republican Institute Daniel Twining, Senior Editor at The Diplomat magazine Prashanth Parameswaran, Davidson College Professor Shelley Rigger, Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Abraham M. Denmark, and Professor Scott L. Kastner of the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. The prominent scholars and experts participating in the symposium will discuss issues related to internal developments in mainland China, US-China-Taiwan relations, and cross-Strait relations.
The MAC stated that President Tsai Ing-wen has maintained a consistent cross-Strait policy. Facing actions by mainland China that have heightened cross-Strait opposition, the government will not waver from its position of commitment to maintaining the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. It will also firmly safeguard the nation's sovereignty and the right of choice of the people of Taiwan. The MAC further indicated that this is the ninth year that the government has entrusted private organizations or academic institutions in Taiwan to co-host symposiums through cooperation between Taiwan and US think tanks. The symposiums have helped to heighten attention in various circles to the importance of cross-Strait issues, promote mutual understanding through exchanges, and assist the government in policy analysis and planning. During the US visit, MAC Minister Chen also plans to meet with US officials and related think tanks to exchange views on cross-Strait relations and seek broad support for the government's cross-Strait policy.