We had the great honor of catching up with Taiwan's Director General during our statewide radio talk show on Monday. With a weak US foreign policy combined with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, we saw the horrific invasion of Ukraine. Many are concerned that China will make a move on Taiwan.

Why is so important that we stand with our friends in Taiwan? The Taiwan people and government are our friends. They're also strong ag trading partners with Montana. And, they're a people that stand for freedom in the face of tyranny.

Here's how Attorney General Austin Knudsen described the relationship:

AG Knudsen: Taiwan is a fascinating country. It's a functioning democracy located 100 miles off the coast of Communist China. Communist China hates Taiwan. Communist China claims Taiwan. China claims there is no independent country of Taiwan. They call it a sub-country, basically. China claims it and they have since since the Nixon era. And this goes all the way back to the Communist takeover and the civil war within China. All the capitalists, all the freedom-loving democracy-loving people, they fled China after Mao Tse  Tung came to power and they went to Taiwan. It's such an amazing country. More importantly for Montana, they buy a tremendous amount of our agricultural products. They are one of consistently one of our top 234 ag markets in the entire world.

Last Fall, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R-MT) re-opened the Montana Asia Trade Office in Taiwan. This is something that Knudsen tried to get done under former Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock.

How does the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office view the important relationship between Montana and Taiwan? How did Taiwan attempt to warn the world about what was happening in Wuhan, China prior to the start of the pandemic? Friendship and ag trade aside, what would happen if China made a move on Taiwan and shut down the shipping corridor between mainland China and Taiwan to the broader Western world?

Here's the full audio with Director General Daniel Chen:

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