On the morning of November 3, AIT Taipei Office Director Sandra Oudkirk visited Control Yuan President Chu Chen to discuss issues related to democracy, freedom, human rights, and possible future cooperation. President Chen also invited Director Oudkirk to participate in the National Human Rights Commission’s 2021 International Conference on Human Rights Development.
President Chen first congratulated Director Oudkirk on returning to Taiwan and taking up the position of AIT director. She then expressed her gratitude to the United States for recently giving Taiwan another 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine. Then, quoting a Chinese poem, President Chen remarked, “how joyous when an old friend comes in the wind and rain,” an expression of her and Taiwan’s gratitude for the United States’ ongoing support of Taiwan even in these difficult times.
The two also discussed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) established last year, with President Chen pointing out that this year, the NHRC and the US have co-organized two workshops through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), “Road to Parity: Women’s Participation in Public Life” and “The Implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.” These two workshops aimed to share Taiwan’s human rights experience with the international community as a means of contributing to it. Meanwhile, AIT affirmed Taiwan’s values and progress in democracy and human rights and expressed its hope for further exchanges on human rights issues with Taiwan and the National Human Rights Commission in the future.