Hoover Institution (Taipei) – A delegation of thirteen Hoover Institution fellows and cooperating scholars visited the Republic of China (Taiwan) for five days of high-level meetings, which included President Tsai Ing-wen and top government officials, defense strategists, party leaders, business professionals, and public intellectuals from across the political spectrum.
The delegation, co-led by Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow James Ellis and Senior Fellow Larry Diamond (who together co-chair Hoover’s Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region) arrived on Saturday, August 20, and will return to the United States on Friday, August 26.
The purpose of the meetings, as articulated in Admiral Ellis’s remarks to President Tsai on August 23, was for the Hoover delegation—whose members cover a range of expertise on China, Taiwan, national security, and foreign policy—to demonstrate “support for Taiwan’s right to exist as a self-governing democracy” and express “deep concern about escalating threats to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the growing challenges to the semiconductor and other supply chains on which the whole world depends.”
August 23 marked 64 years since the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, when US forces helped thwart a Chinese attack against islands administered by Taiwan.
“We have come here principally to listen and learn,” said Admiral Ellis, who commanded a carrier battle group and led the U.S. contingency response during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995–96. “But our presence here also reaffirms the ongoing commitment of the American people to the deepening cooperation between the United States and Taiwan.”
Admiral Ellis explained that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given new urgency to cross-strait tensions. He said it was crucial that the US and Taiwan learn appropriate lessons from the conflict in Ukraine, including the importance of building requisite levels of deterrence; discerning the possibilities for miscalculations by authoritarian actors who are determined to achieve their political objectives; and understanding the potential for small, lethal, and resilient weapons systems to repel a larger aggressor nation’s military.
Ellis also stressed the potential widespread benefits of cooperation with Taiwan in the areas of high technology, manufacturing, education, energy, climate, and other forms of trade and exchange.
News Coverage of the Visit
Defiant Taiwan says it has 'resolve' to stand up to China on battle anniversary
Via United Press International
Taiwan Determined to Defend Itself Against China, President Says
Via Newsweek
Taiwan warns China of 'heavy price' for invasion on battle anniversary
Via Reuters
Tsai urges stronger democratic alliance
Via Taipei Times
Taiwan's Tsai says self-defence resolve cannot be shaken
Via CTV
President Tsai meets Hoover Institution delegation
Via Office of the President, Republic of China
Tsai: No threat can shake Taiwanese resolve to defend nation
Via Radio Taiwan International
Taiwan's Tsai says self-defense resolve cannot be shaken
Via Associated Press
Taiwan warns China of 'heavy price' for invasion on battle anniversary
Via Channel News Asia
Members of the delegation are as follows:
Delegation Co-chairs
Admiral James O Ellis Jr.
Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Larry Diamond
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
Delegation Members
David Fedor
Senior Program Manager, Hoover Institution
Markos Kounalakis
Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Oriana Skylar Mastro
Center Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford University
Michael McFaul
Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
Director, Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford University
Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies, Department of Political Science, Stanford University
Matt Pottinger
Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Orville Schell
Arthur Ross Director, Center on US-China Relations, Asia Society
Thomas F. Stephenson
Chair of the Board of Overseers, Hoover Institution
Kharis Templeman
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
Glenn Tiffert
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
Matt Turpin
Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Trip Coordinator
Jeffrey Sequeira
Assistant Director, Center on US-China Relations, Asia Society
For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, jmarsch@stanford.edu.
