Executive Yuan Spokesperson Kolas Yotaka on Tuesday night (Hawaii time) delivered remarks at the 25th anniversary celebration of sister-state relations between Taiwan and Hawaii, saying that Taiwan has opened wide its doors to the Pacific and embraced the peoples of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Speaking on behalf of Taiwan's government at the invitation of Hawaii Gov. David Ige, the spokesperson said Taiwan has not wavered in its pursuit of the values of democracy and freedom, and that the government is currently pushing an array of progressive policies. She characterized the peoples of Taiwan and Hawaii as like brothers and sisters given the political, economic, cultural, historic, geographic and even kinship ties that bind the two. Her address also included an open invitation for Gov. Ige to visit Taiwan, which met with a positive response from the governor.
2018 marks a quarter century of Taiwan-Hawaii sisterhood relations. The Hawaii state government celebrated this important milestone with a banquet for over 200 prominent local leaders as well as representatives of the Taiwanese community in Hawaii. Among those present were former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt and current AIT Chairman James Moriarty, who in his remarks recounted the rich history of U.S.-Taiwan relations and emphasized the values of democracy shared by the U.S. and Taiwan.