On the evening of February 6, 2013, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (TECO-NY) hosted the New York Press Club for a national briefing, followed by a dinner party celebrating the Chinese New Year.

Looking back on developments in the Taiwan-US relationship over the last year, TECO-NY’s Director General Ambassador Andrew Kao said “we saw some concrete achievements brought about by President Ma’s “low profile” and “surprise free” approach to building the mutual trust in the Taiwan-US relationship, notably Taiwan’s inclusion into the US Visa Waiver Program in November and an agreement by the US to re-open TIFA talks in March. In the future, we hope to gain unilateral support from all facets of the US government and American society in our bid for meaningful participation in international organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO.”

More than sixty international journalists attended the event and gained a better understanding of the current political and economic situation in Taiwan, as well as the newest developments in the Cross-Strait relationship. They also applauded Taiwan’s continued efforts to safeguard its democracy, freedom, and universal human rights, in addition to its international humanitarian efforts.

The New York Press Club’s President Larry Seary stated “Taiwan isn’t just the world’s 19th largest economy; it is also an active proponent and supporter of democratization and cultural diversity around the world. It is internationally lauded for its universal health care system and its media freedom. Given all of these factors, it is important to continue to support Taiwan’s bid for meaningful participation in international organizations.”

The New York Press Club was founded in 1948 and has a membership of more than 500 made up of journalists and journalism experts based in New York. TECO-NY invited its friends from the club to enhance the awareness of Taiwan amongst international journalists working in New York. ‘)}