US-Taiwan Relations: Advancing Four Pillars of the Strategic Partnership

The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is pleased to invite you to a report launch titled “US-Taiwan Relations: Advancing Four Pillars of the Strategic Partnership.”
The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) passed by the US Congress in 1979 has provided an enduring legal framework for US-Taiwan relations—ensuring defense and security, economic, and people-to-people ties, as well as preserving aspects of Taiwan's international space. While the US-Taiwan relationship is stronger now than it has been at any point since 1979, ongoing fundamental changes in the international order necessitate an adjustment in the US approach to this strategic partnership. In this discussion moderated by Josh Rogin, the panelists will review advances in these four key pillars and make policy recommendations that can ensure that the TRA and the US-Taiwan strategic partnership remain fit for purpose in the strong future. The event will feature opening remarks by Amb. Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, Taiwan's representative to the United States.
The event will be held at GTI’s office located at 1836 Jefferson Place NW in Washington DC (approximately one block from the Dupont Circle Metro). Doors will open at 11:45 AM, and the event will begin at 12:15 PM. Please direct questions or concerns to Program Assistant Ben Levine at [email protected].
**Media: Please contact Ben Levine at [email protected] if you would like to bring additional crew members or equipment, so that we can be sure to accommodate you.

The Keynote Speaker:
Ambassador Alexander Yui Tah-ray is Taiwan’s representative to the United States, a role he assumed in December 2023. He has over 35 years of experience in diplomacy and previously served as Taiwan’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2021 to 2023. His past overseas assignments include serving as Taiwan’s representative to the European Union and Belgium, as well as ambassador to Paraguay from 2015 to 2018. Ambassador Yui has held various leadership roles within Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focusing on Latin American, European, and global affairs. Throughout his career, he has worked to expand Taiwan’s global partnerships and strengthen its international presence. His extensive experience includes postings in New York, San Salvador, and Geneva, reflecting his commitment to advancing Taiwan’s foreign policy goals. Ambassador Yui received a BA in politics and foreign languages and a MA in Spanish literature from Texas A&M University.
The Panelists:

W. Brent Christensen became an adjunct professor in Brigham Young University’s Political Science Department in January 2024 after 35 years in the US Foreign Service. In his last assignment in the Foreign Service, he served as the US representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada. Previously, he was director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) from 2018 to 2021. He also served as deputy director of AIT and as director of the State Department’s Office of Taiwan Coordination. He has served three assignments at the US Embassy in Beijing, as well as assignments at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, and in the US missions in Hong Kong and South Africa. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a captain in the US Air Force. He earned an MA in East Asian studies from the George Washington University, a BA in Chinese language and literature from Brigham Young University, and a DMD degree from the Oregon Health and Science University. He has received a Presidential Meritorious Service Award, the State Department’s Charles E. Cobb Jr. Award, and honorary doctorates from the Sun Yat-sen University and Kaohsiung Medical University.

Russell Hsiao is the executive director of GTI, senior fellow at The Jamestown Foundation, and adjunct fellow at Pacific Forum. He is a former Penn Kemble fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy and visiting scholar at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia. He previously served as a senior research fellow at The Project 2049 Institute and national security fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Prior to those positions he was the editor of China Brief at The Jamestown Foundation from October 2007 to July 2011 and a special associate in the International Cooperation Department at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. While in law school, he clerked within the Office of the Chairman at the Federal Communications Commission and the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center at the Office of the US Trade Representative. Mr. Hsiao received his JD and certificate from the Law and Technology Institute at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law where he served as the editor-in-chief of the Catholic University’s Journal of Law and Technology. He received a BA in international studies from the American University’s School of International Service and the University Honors Program.

Derek J. Mitchell is a non-resident senior adviser to the Office of the President and the Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). From 2001 to 2009, Ambassador Mitchell served as senior fellow with the International Security Program and director for Asia projects and founded CSIS’s renowned Southeast Asia Program. One of the nation’s foremost experts on global democracy and Asian and Pacific political and security affairs, Ambassador Mitchell boasts a more than three-decade career in the US government and the private and nonprofit sectors. He most recently served as president of the National Democratic Institute, overseeing programs to support democratic development worldwide. From 2012 to 2016, Ambassador Mitchell was the first US ambassador to Burma (Myanmar) in 22 years during a historic period in the country’s nascent democratic transition. During the previous year, he served as special representative and policy coordinator for Burma, with the rank of ambassador. From 2009 to 2011, Ambassador Mitchell oversaw the US Defense Department’s Asia policy as the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs and as the acting assistant secretary, for which he was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Distinguished Public Service. He previously served as special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific affairs from 1997 to 2001.

The Moderator:

Josh Rogin is lead industry analyst for Global Security analyst for WP Intelligence. Since 2016, Josh has served as a columnist for the Global Opinions section of the Post, where his columns have broken news, provided insight, and driven the Washington conversation around national security and foreign policy. With a particular focus on Asia, Josh has interviewed top world leaders and decision makers, officials and decision makers including the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, President Donald Trump, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, and many others. He has been a keynote speaker on US-China relations on three continents. His work has been featured on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CBS, NBS, ABC, NPR and several other outlets. Josh’s best-selling 2021 book: Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century (Mariner Books), is regarded as one of the most deeply reported accounts of the US-China relationship during the first Trump Administration. Previously, Josh has covered foreign policy and national security for Bloomberg View, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, Congressional Quarterly, Federal Computer Week, and Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. He has also received journalism fellowships from the Knight Foundation, the East-West Center, and the National Press Foundation. Josh holds a BA in international affairs from the George Washington University and studied at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.

Host or Publisher Global Taiwan Institute