New chief of AIT said to be chosen

Former US official Douglas Paal is expected to head the de facto American embassy in Taipei, reliable sources said yesterday. However, Taiwan's foreign ministry has yet to receive US confirmation of the appointment.

Taipei media reported yesterday that US President George W. Bush was expected to appoint Paal, president of Washington's non-profit Asia Pacific Policy Center, to replace Raymond Burghardt to be director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

Spokespersons at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and AIT declined to comment yesterday on the report.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said it was the ministry's policy to refrain from commenting on AIT personnel changes.

When contacted by the Taipei Times to confirm or comment on the report, AIT Spokesperson Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans said: "No comment. I can't confirm it."

Foreign ministry officials said confirmation had not yet reached the ministry as of yesterday evening.

But a reliable source in the US said a months-long stalemate over the decision concluded after senior Bush advisor Karl Rove caved in to push for Paal's appointment, giving up on his choice, Chase Untermyer, former assistant secretary of the navy in the Reagan administration.

Paal was special assistant to former US president George Bush for national security affairs and senior director for Asian Affairs on the National Security Council, where he also served in the Reagan administration.

Paal has worked in the US State Department with the Policy Planning Staff and as a senior analyst for the CIA. He also served at US embassies in Beijing and Singapore.

A veteran participant in "track two" diplomacy across the Taiwan Strait, Paal has maintained close ties with scholars and officials in Taipei, including Taipei's top representative to the US Chen Chien-jen (程建人), sources said.

In fact, Paal was a student of Senior Advisor of the National Security Council Michael Kao (高英茂) at Brown University over 30 years ago, an assistant to Kao said.

Observers in Taipei held mixed views of the likely appointment, with some saying Paal's veteran experience in track two diplomacy was an asset to his future job as the AIT office chief in Taipei.

"His experiences in shuttling across the Taiwan Strait over the years would be conducive to his future job, as he has established various channels with diverse political parties in Taiwan and in academia here," said Su Chi (蘇起), former Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council.

Philip Yang (楊永明), political analyst from National Taiwan University, said Paal's connection with US State Department official in charge of Taiwan affairs James Lilley would smooth his future assignments in Taipei.

"His ties with James will ensure good channels would be established between the State Department and the AIT in Taipei," Yang said.

Lilley and Paal were former colleagues at the National Security Council in the administration of Bush's father.

Paal's criticism in June of President Bush's statement that the US would do "whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan backfired, triggering antagonism against him from more conservative Republicans, sources said.

In an interview in March last year, Paal said that instead of trying to win diplomatic recognition, Taiwan would be better off seeking excellence in non-political global interests, such as AIDS research.