Wednesday, December 13, 2023 from 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM (ET)
In-Person (RSVP here) and Webcast
Event Description:
The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is very excited to invite you to the release of a new occasional report by Christian Castro, Bonnie Glick, Russell Hsiao, and Zoë Weaver-Lee, entitled “A Geoeconomic Strategy for Enhancing the US-Taiwan Partnership.” While increased Chinese military aggression—particularly toward Taiwan—must be addressed directly and urgently, the United States and Taiwan, along with like-minded allies and partners, must also confront the full-spectrum challenges and threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the international rules-based order. Indeed, China is utilizing both military and geoeconomic tools to exert influence and engage in coercion in an effort to fundamentally transform the global order.
Senior US leaders have stated that “China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” In the 21st century and against the backdrop of the PRC’s mounting challenges to the international rules-based order, economic security is increasingly synonymous with national security.
Although the United States and Taiwan enjoy a robust economic partnership, this aspect of the relationship has been underutilized in countering China’s array of economic weapons, which include trade and investment tools, sanctions and export/import controls, financial and monetary policies, foreign aid, cyber operations, and manipulation of energy and commodities markets. These geoeconomic tools have played a significant role in Beijing’s overall strategy for global influence.
In their timely occasional report “A Geoeconomic Strategy for Enhancing the US-Taiwan Partnership,” the authors make the case that military conflict in the Taiwan Strait is neither imminent nor inevitable. The PRC is deterrable, especially if the United States and Taiwan—along with other like-minded partners—take the necessary steps to shore up the international rules-based order and holistically leverage geoeconomic tools to strengthen their collective economic security and resilience.
This event will feature keynote remarks from Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) Deputy Representative Robin Cheng, followed by a panel discussion with report authors Christian Castro, Bonnie Glick, Russell Hsiao, and Zoë Weaver-Lee.
The event will be held at the GTI office located at 1836 Jefferson Place NW in Washington DC (approximately one block from the Dupont Circle Metro). Doors will open at 10:00 AM, and the event will begin at 10:30 AM. If you plan on attending in-person, please RSVP by December 11, as seating is limited. Light refreshments will be provided. Please direct questions or concerns to Program Manager Marshall Reid at mreid@globaltaiwan.org.
**Media: Please contact Marshall Reid at mreid@globaltaiwan.org if you would like to bring additional crew members or equipment, so that we can be sure to accommodate you.
Keynotes:
Dan Sullivan was sworn in as Alaska’s eighth United States Senator on January 6, 2015. Sullivan serves on four Senate committees vital to Alaska: the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the Armed Services Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Sullivan also currently serves as the chairman of the International Republican Institute. Prior to his election to the US Senate, Sullivan served as Alaska’s attorney general and commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. During his tenure he spearheaded a comprehensive statewide strategy – the “Choose Respect” campaign – to combat Alaska’s high rates of domestic violence and sexual assault. Under Sullivan’s leadership, the Department of Law also undertook an aggressive strategy of initiating and intervening in litigation aimed at halting federal government overreach into the lives of Alaskans and their economy. As commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Sullivan managed one of the largest portfolios of oil, gas, minerals, renewable energy, timber, land, and water in the world. Working closely with Alaska’s governor and state legislature, Sullivan developed numerous strategies that spurred responsible resource development, energy security, and a dramatic increase in good-paying jobs across a number of critical sectors in the Alaska economy. He also developed a comprehensive plan to streamline and reform the state’s regulatory and permitting system. Sullivan served in the administration of President George W. Bush as the US assistant secretary of state for economic, energy, and business under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He also served as a director in the International Economics Directorate of the National Security Council staff at the White House. Sullivan earned a BA in economics from Harvard University in 1987 and a joint law and masters of science in foreign service from Georgetown University in 1993.
Robin Cheng is the deputy representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington. Prior to his current posting, Cheng held a variety of positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including director general of the department of protocol, deputy director general of the department of international information services, and director of the administrative division at TECRO. He has also served as section chief of both the office of protocol and the office of personnel, as well as the director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta. He received his master’s in public management from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, as well as a degree from the School of Law at Soochow University.
Panelists:
Christian Castro is a former senior foreign service officer with the US Department of State. During his time at the State Department, he served in a variety of positions within the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, including director of the Office of Taiwan Coordination, director of the Office of Multilateral (ASEAN) Affairs, and senior advisor for cyber policy. He received his BA in international relations from Georgetown University and his MA in national security policy studies from National Defense University. He also completed a graduate fellowship at National Chengchi University.
Bonnie Glick is an American diplomat and businesswoman who served as the deputy administrator/chief operating officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2019 to 2020. Nominated for the post by President Donald Trump in April 2018, she was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in January 2019. Following her service at USAID, she was the inaugural director of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, a start-up think tank focused on the premise that technology developed in the United States and allied countries must advance freedom. She continues to serve on the Institute’s board. Glick began her career as an American diplomat and served for 12 years as a foreign service officer at the United States Department of State. She later worked for IBM as a global account executive, where she co-authored three patents as part of IBM Research. Glick served as the deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Aging from 2017 until 2019 under Governor Larry Hogan.
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. 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.
Zoë Weaver-Lee is a programs coordinator at the East-West Center in Washington, where she heads the program’s communications efforts and seminars. She previously served as a program associate at the Global Taiwan Institute, prior to which she studied Mandarin in Taiwan as part of the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship. She graduated from Stetson University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in global development and minors in political science and Asian studies.