We will soon move into the question and answer part of our program but I thought before we did that, if any of the panelists had any further thoughts, anything that they would like to add? Ambassador Moriarty?

He just had more of an affinity for the PRC. What...

These are restrictions that really weren’t called for by the TRA. They weren’t required by the TRA, and I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about that. I understand after President Carter left office, these restrictions were reversed, but what was going on in the early ...

Mr. Parker, I’m wondering if you can share some of your reflections about the early days, just after the passage of the TRA. I understand that the State Department imposed some rather onerous restrictions, especially on contact between US and Taiwan officials, flights, this type of thing.

Dr. Chang, I’m curious. Which administration, in your view, was the warmest to the TRA? [laughs]

How could it have been implemented better, and how has it been affected, or interpreted, or used by different administrations over the years?

Dr. Chang, I wanted to ask you, you did a wonderful job talking about the benefits, the positive aspects of the foundation that the TRA has created. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the setbacks. We’re not being negative here. It’s constructive criticism that every ...

Ambassador Moriarty, I wanted to ask you, what do you think the most successful component of the TRA has been over the past 40 years?

Many of you in AmCham involved in this were working for multinationals that were probably thinking of doing business in China eventually. I’m just curious what the home offices thought about this, what kind of messages your memberships were getting from...

Mr. Parker, I wanted to ask you about the whole process or the activity that was going on at that time, especially here in Taipei with AmCham and bringing that the perspective of people on the ground.

Go ahead.

You mentioned that the US has had many belts and roads that have helped Taiwan that have grown out of this relationship over the past 40 years. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about the positive side of the foundation that the TRA has laid ...

Dr. Chang, I wanted to ask you a question. We talked a little earlier. You used the phrase that I thought was very interesting that we were talking about the positive foundation that the TRA has provided.

I think at that time, you were given the nickname the underground ambassador because of your involvement, the amount of time, and how much you dedicated to keeping things running and helping with the TRA. How did you do that while holding down a job at your busy law firm?

I’d like to have you talk a little bit about your experience in playing this key role in drafting the TRA. Especially, I’d very much like to hear a description of your experience testifying before Congress in 1979, and how this testimony led to the TRA. More specifically, how receptive ...

Mr. Parker, I’d like to ask you a question. I think I’ve read something that you’ve said, that I think is really fascinating, about derecognition. You said this is a crisis that virtually everyone had seen coming, and no one was prepared for.

Just a follow up question to that, there’s often talk about how the US might just be treating Taiwan like a bargaining chip? What kind of role does the TRA play in making sure that doesn’t happen?

Very honored to be with you today, and let’s start the discussion. The first question I would like to ask Ambassador Moriarty, if we could just imagine a world without the TRA, what would that look like? What would this strategic part of the world be like?

Finally, at the very end, we have Dr. Chang Jaw Ling. She served as the deputy representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US from 2004 to 2006, she’s also deputy secretary general of the National Security Council from 2006 to 2008. She’s currently an adjunct ...

He’s also served as a special assistant to the President of the United States and the senior director for Asia at the National Security Council. That was from 2002 to 2004.

Next down the line, Ambassador James Moriarty. He’s the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute in Taiwan since October 2016. He’s been the director for China Affairs at the National Security Council. That was from 2001 to 2002.

Most interesting for us today is he was the AmCham, American Chamber of Commerce’s chairman. I think the title then was president before we’ve changed the nomenclature when the US brought off official diplomatic ties with Taiwan. He played a very active, critical role in drafting the TRA.

Mr. Robert Parker practice international business law in Taipei, Washington, DC, and San Francisco for four decades. He established two successful venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. He was awarded Taiwan’s highest civilian honor. That’s the Order of Brilliant Star for his contributions to US Taiwan relations.

Thank you very much. I’m delighted to moderate this panel this morning. The subject is TRA Foundation for Progress. We’re going to be looking at the history of the TRA from different perspectives. I’m delighted to have such a great panel. I’ll introduce everyone, starting from my right, Robert Parker.