Report calls into question Paal appointment to AIT

Speculation mounting that the nomination of Douglas Paal to head the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) could be withdrawn, as an article on Paal in a conservative US newsweekly has once again called his appointment into question.

Paal's was criticized by congressional conservatives who were leery of previous public statements made by Paal which they felt called into question his commitment to Taiwan and questions the funding for Paal's think tank, the Asia Pacific Policy Center (APPC), as reported in the Taipei Times on April 21.

An entitled "The Bush administration's dubious envoy to Taiwan," published Thursday in the New Republic, says that even Paal's friends and former colleagues had doubts about his activities since leaving the public sector.

"Specifically, they wondered about the Asia Pacific Policy Center, a boutique think tank Paal had spent his time out of government running," the article said.

According to the article, most of the think tank's funding came from foreign governments and corporations, which "suggests one final reason Paal may have been tapped for Taipei: Unlike virtually any other diplomatic appointment, it requires no Senate Hearings and no confirmation."

The article also questioned the fact that out of the four APPC trustee members, three did not know that they were acting as think-tank trustees.

In addition, the article said that the main work of the APPC is its lobbying on behalf of the Malaysian government and that the majority of APPC financing comes from Malaysia's former vice president.

Though Paal had more than once dismissed his ties with the Malaysian former official, Paal publicly admitted that he had helped organize several events between Washington and Malaysia on behalf of the Malaysian government.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) said that the reason Paal has yet to assume the AIT post is because the FBI has not yet completed a background check on him.

Chien that this kind of routine check can take months, "and that's why the appointment of Paal has been delayed till the end of March this year."

When asked whether Paal's AIT appointment would be affected due to rumors over his disagreement with President George W. Bush's views, Chien said he didn't think that Paal's personal views would get in the way.

Chien that it's the US' decision whether and when Paal would be formally announced as the head of the AIT and that Taiwan had no place to interfere or comment on the matter.

United Evening News, a local Chinese-language newspaper, said that according to a high-ranking government source, Taiwan was informed by the US last year of Paal's appointment.

Although there were some opposition voices coming from US-based pro-Taiwan groups over Paal's apparent lack of friendliness toward the nation, out of respect, Taiwan did not bring up any disagreement over the appointment.