American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Douglas Paal is scheduled to leave his post on July 1, and his likely replacement will be veteran diplomat Stephen Young, sources in Washington and Taipei told the Taipei Times yesterday.
When asked to comment on the issue, AIT deputy spokeswoman Nadine Siak confirmed that Paal is planning to leave, but said she had no further information on the date of his departure or who his replacement would be.
A US government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that it was an "open secret" in Washington that Young was Paal's most likely successor.
PHOTO: US STATE DEPARTMENT
Young is currently the US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, a post he has held since July 25, 2003. He has been in the US Department of State for 25 years, and is a former AIT deputy director as well as a former director of the State Department's Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs.
AIT is the de facto US embassy in Taiwan established under the US' Taiwan Relations Act, and appointments to the post of AIT director -- in effect the US ambassador to Taiwan -- do not require Senate confirmation.
The appointment of a career foreign-service officer as the head of AIT would probably be greeted with enthusiasm by State Department officials and their Taiwanese counterparts, the source said.
"With Steve [Young], you know what you are getting," a separate source in Taiwan said.
"At least he's diplomatic -- a real professional," the source said.
Many observers of Taiwan-US relations have said that the Bush and Chen administrations have had a difficult relationship in recent years, and some have specifically said that part of the problem was the personal animosity between President Chen Shui-bian (
One senior US official said that Chen and Paal "dislike each other so intensely that they hardly ever meet."
The official cited a series of missteps and miscommunications as the source of the friction, saying that "Paal had the deck stacked against him before he even came to Taiwan."
"Some Taiwanese officials were very open about their dislike of Paal before he came to Taipei," the official said.
"As a result, Paal understandably had a chip on his shoulder when he got here," the official said.
However, the US government source said this was idle rumor-mongering.
"Even if there were personal issues, Doug [Paal] and Chen are too professional to let it affect US-Taiwan relations," the US source said.
It was not immediately clear if Paal plans to continue in government service. But the US source said it was widely thought that Paal would be "promoted" within the Bush administration.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS