U.S. official vows to keep U.S.-Taiwan ties solid

The 55-year-old Taiwan-born Chao, the highest-ranking American official of Chinese descent in U.S. history, said she would also like to visit Taiwan sometime after her retirement along with the outgoing George W. Bush administration.

Chao would be the only Cabinet member to serve through two terms in the George W. Bush administration over the past eight years. The tenure of the Bush administration is scheduled to expire Jan. 20, 2009. Chao served as deputy transportation secretary under the administration of first President Bush, George H.W. Bush.

Chao made the remarks during a conversation with the CNA reporter after attending a ceremony held in Flushing, New York where Chao’s father, James Chao, who has been running a shipping and trading business in New York since the 1960s, was granted a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Leadership Foundation (ILF).

Elaine Chao, who also gained the same ILF award several years ago, said she will continue to support the operations of the foundation, which promotes the civic involvement, economic effectiveness, and entrepreneurship and international business development of the Asian Pacific American community through a national network of business and community leaders in the United States.

The ILF has provided scholarships and sponsored educational seminars and leadership training for over 500 Asian American college students from across the U.S. and placed them in structured internships in government agencies and the private sector.

Chao, who is married to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in law by Taiwan’s Fu Jen Catholic University in 1993. She is a former president of United Way, one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States, and has also served as director of the U.S. Peace Corps.

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