Former AIT Chairwoman Therese Shaheen pays private visit to ROC

This article was written by Shih Ying-ying and published by the Taiwan Journal on January 20, 2006. It reports that former chairwomen of the American Institute in Taiwan, Therese Shaheen, recently visited Taiwan and gave a speech titled "Why Taiwan Matters".

Shaheen resigned from the American Institute in Taiwan in April 2004 and is currently president and chief operating officer of U.S.-Asia Commercial Development Corp., an information and communications technology firm.

In her speech, Shaheen expressed her views on trade relations between Taiwan and China. She emphasizes Taiwan's importance as a source of the world's most sophisticated semiconductors and high-tech products. She further admits that she a supporter of free trade, as long as free trade does not impinge on national security or critical liberties and freedoms in Taiwan. She stressed that national security should be taken into consideration before cross-strait economic exchanges.

Nonetheless, Shaheen pointed out that Taiwan and China share a "great partnership", because the Taiwanese contribute money, management skills and technology while China offers labor, infrastructure and factories. She further emphasized that Taiwan-China relations should not be viewed as a zero-sum game, but rather as a "win-win situation".

More information about Therese Shaheen's speech is provided in this article.