The Taiwan Relations Act at Forty and U.S.-Taiwan Relations

The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted by the United States Congress in April 1979, authorized continued “commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan” in the wake of the U.S. decision to establish diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China. By authorizing the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and other provisions, the TRA created a framework for relations between the U.S. and Taiwan which has enabled their partnership and friendship to thrive in the absence of diplomatic relations. 

In observance of the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, this daylong public conference will feature analysis of the creation and implementation of the TRA, and how it continues to guide U.S.-Taiwan relations and interaction among Taiwan, China, and the United States.

This conference is co-hosted by CSIS, the Brookings Institution, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

8:35am         Opening Remarks

John Hamre (President and CEO, CSIS)

8:45am         Welcome Speech

Stanley Kao (Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States)

(Introduced by Bonnie Glaser)

 8:55am         Speaker Introduction

Richard Armitage (President, Armitage International and CSIS Trustee)

 9:00am         VTC Speech and Q&A;

Her Excellency President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Q&A; Moderator: Michael Green (Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS / Director of Asian Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service)

 9:45am         Coffee Break

 10:00am       Panel One: Looking Back on U.S.-Taiwan Relations Since 1979

Moderator: Richard Bush (Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution)

Panelist 1: The TRA and the U.S. One-China Policy

Stephen Young (Former Director, American Institute in Taiwan)

Panelist 2: Cross-Strait Relations and U.S.-Taiwan Relations

Steven Goldstein (Associate, Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies)

Panelist 3: The Evolution of the U.S.-Taiwan Security Partnership

Shirley Kan (Former Specialist in Asian Security Affairs, Congressional Research Service)

 11:15am       Coffee Break

 11:30am       Speech and Q&A;

Legislator Bi-khim Hsiao (Legislative Yuan)

(Introduced by Bonnie Glaser)

 12:15pm       Keynote Remarks

Representative Gerald Connolly (D-Virginia)

(Introduced by Richard Bush)

          1:00pm         Lunch

 1:30pm         Panel Two: Taiwan’s Strategic Environment Today

Moderator: Bonnie Glaser (Senior Adviser for Asia and Director of the China Power Project, CSIS)

Panelist 1: Taiwan’s Changing Security Environment

Michael Chase (Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation)

Panelist 2: How Taiwan Should Ensure Economic Competitiveness

Eric Altbach (Senior Vice President, Albright Stonebridge Group)

Panelist 3: Taiwan’s Options Regarding China

Susan Thornton (Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs)

Panelist 4: U.S.-Taiwan Economic Ties

Da-nien Daniel Liu (Director of the Regional Development Study Center, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research)

 2:45pm         Panel Three: The Next Forty Years

Moderator: Abraham Denmark (Director of the Asia Program, Wilson Center)

Panelist 1: The TRA’s Continuing Relevance to U.S. Policy

Robert Sutter (Professor of Practice of International Affairs, George Washington...