Taiwan on Sunday was greeted with the sad news that former US senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole had passed away. An important friend and fervent supporter of Taiwan, Dole was a key promoter of the Taiwan Relations Act, and vociferously pushed for the sale of F-16 jets to Taiwan.
According to a report in the New York Times, Dole played an important role behind the scenes in the landmark phone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and then-US president-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 2, 2016.
Following Dole’s passing, condolences and obituaries have poured in from across the US political spectrum,