Diplomatic delegation from Taiwan visits Montgomery

October 24, 2025 – MONTGOMERY, AL – A diplomatic delegation from Taiwan led by Director General Jared (Chu-en) Lin visited Montgomery on Thursday and Friday to meet with Governor Kay Ivey (R), Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair, and other state leaders.

Lin is the new Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta.

Lin and his team also spoke at length with the Alabama Gazette editorial staff while he was in Montgomery on Friday, October 24.

Lin told the Gazette that Taiwan does" $371 million" worth of business with the state of Alabama.

"We are the 11th largest export market for Alabama in the world," explained Lin.

The four major sectors of exports that Alabama produces for Taiwan are: "Transportation equipment, chemicals, miscellaneous manufactured goods, and processed food."

"I arrived in Atlanta about two and a half months ago," Lin said.

Taiwan has thirteen diplomatic offices in the United States, including Lin's office in Atlanta, with the one in Washington D.C. being the lead office.

"Our office covers six states," said Lin. "I have now visited all six states in the Southeast region. Before I came here my ministers told me this place is full of opportunities."

Lin said that he has found Alabama to have a "Vibrant," economic outlook.

"This place is really full of opportunity," said Lin. "It is a good place to work, make friends and partners."

The Gazette asked about Taiwan's key diplomatic priorities in the region, and how does the Atlanta office support those goals.

"Taiwan diplomacy has entered into a new era since President Lai took office," said Lin. "We want to work with our friends and partners to achieve common goals."

Lai Ching-te (also known as William Lai) was elected in 2024. He is known for his strong pro-independence position for Taiwan.

"We want to make friends with the government, and we also want to develop relation with the business community and education," said Lin.

"We met the Governor yesterday," said Lin. "We also met with the Secretary of Commerce. We had a very good conversation with both ladies. We pushed for the Secretary of Commerce to lead a trade delegation to Taiwan."

Under President Donald J. Trump (R) the U.S. is encouraging foreign corporations to move more of their manufacturing to the United States – nowhere is this more true than with Taiwan, which is a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing,

"We want them to see this as the destination," Lin said of Alabama.

Lin said that Taiwan already has an existing relationship between Auburn University and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan and that he hoped that other Alabama Universities would form similar relationships with their Taiwanese counterparts.

"We want to find out who is interested in working with Taiwan," said Lin.

Lin emphasized that Taiwan is a democracy.

"I am proud to say that Taiwan is a good example for fighting authoritarianism for many decades," stated Lin.

Lin said that Taiwan seeks to be the pillar in the Asian region showing that an open democratic society works.

Taiwan (formerly Formosa) is a large island in the South China Sea. In 1662 Ming loyalist Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) established the Kingdom of Tungning there. In 1683 China's Qing Dynasty formally annexed Taiwan after defeating Tungning. In 1887 it was elevated to a full province of China by the Qing Empire. The island was taken from China by Japan in the treaty ending the First Sino-Chinese War in 1895. After the allies won World War II, Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China in late 1945. When the communists led by Mao Tse Tung (Mao Zedong) defeated the Chinese Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiǎng Jièsh) in 1949, the nationalists' Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan where it maintained control. In 1978 the Carter administration recognized Communist China as the only legitimate government of China, leaving Taiwan in diplomatic limbo.

Current day Chinese President Xi Jin-Ping has declared that Taiwan is a break-away province and openly has discussed invading the island nation. Lin strongly disagreed with that characterization of his nation.

"You broke away from us, we did not break away from Beijing," said Lin in response to Xi's bravado. "He has a lot of challenges domestically. We don't know if he is rational. He seeks to show his people that he is great. We would like to maintain peace and the best thing for the peace is to maintain the status quo."

"We have a strong adversary who wants to take us back," Lin said. "Eight decades we are still here, and we are thriving."

"If Xi Jinping is irrational enough to attack us, we have got to prepare ourselves for any possible scenario that could come," said Lin.

The United States has long sold weaponry to Taiwan including recent sales of M1 Abrams tanks and F16 fighters.

"We are very grateful for the pollical leaders in the United Sates saying that Taiwan is a force for good," Lin said. "Selling the arms to Taiwan is a huge thing for our security. We are very grateful to the United Sates for all they are doing for and with Tiawan."

"I don't want to sound pessimistic," said Lin. "We are doing all we can and we want to thank the United States."

President Donald J. Trump (R) has imposed numerous tariffs against various countries in an effort to reshore manufacturing and remove trade imbalances.

"We are very happy with the President Trump's policies," said Lin and that he expects that, "Taiwan companies coming to invest in the United States," will be a reality in coming years.

Lin stressed though that Taiwan is a capitalist country and their corporations make their own decisions.

"The companies, they have their business plans and are independent of the government," said Lin. "They make their decision on where, when and how much they invest."

"Let's make this place an attractive place for investment," said Lin. "We want to work with the six states particularly Alabama to make this the best state for investment."

Lin said that he encouraged Governor Ivey and Secretary McNair to "organize a delegation to go and visit Taiwan and see what Taiwan has to offer through direct contact between the two sides."

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