New Year beano marks healing of rift

In what was quietly being billed as a tribute to the good quality of US-Taiwan relations despite the brouhaha over President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) referendum plans, a throng of top US officials traveled to a Washington suburb Friday night for a Lunar New Year party given by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to hobnob with Taiwan officials and Washington's pro-Taiwan crowd.

Headed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, the US side included leading East Asia administration experts from the White House, State Department and Pentagon, including a flock of assistant secretaries and deputy assistant secretaries of state and defense, who mingled for nearly three hours over finger food, wine and soft drinks.

It was something of a victory and vindication for AIT head Therese Shaheen, who in recent months has been pilloried for statements that have been considered flamboyant, including a statement she denies making -- that Taiwan's pursuit of submarines is "silly" -- and a statement when Chen was in New York last year that President George W. Bush was Chen's "guardian angel."

The list of official attendees was impressive: Wolfowitz himself, who was escorted triumphantly to the party by Shaheen five minutes before the party was scheduled to end; Michael Green, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice's new top Asian official; Steven Yates, vice president Cheney's top Asian aide; Under Secretary of Defense for policy Douglas Feith; and Assistant Secretary of State for Asian and Pacific affairs James Kelly.

Also in attendance were Richard Lawless, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific affairs, and a former business partner of Shaheen in Taiwan where they had an office as part of an international venture capital operation; Kim Holmes, assistant secretary of defense for international organization affairs; Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for International Security Affairs Peter Flory; and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Randall Schriver.

Wolfowitz warmly greeted Taiwan's de facto ambassador, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office head Chen Chien-jen (程建人), when he arrived from the Pentagon to join the party, to the apparent glee of Shaheen.