William Stanton, the incoming director of the American Institute in Taiwan, said he was “honored and delighted” by his appointment and that he would work to maintain peace and security in the Taiwan Strait.
He will take over next month from Stephen Young following top-level consultations with the US State Department in Washington.
Stanton introduced himself to the Taiwanese press corps in Washington on Wednesday, made a brief statement and then took a series of questions on an off-the-record basis.
His statement revealed almost nothing about his professional plans and goals, but he stressed how much he enjoyed Chinese food and how he attended university in Taipei in the 1980s to learn Chinese.
“Although I last lived in Taiwan 22 years ago, I have many fond memories of my time there. My older daughter was born there and so you could say that she was 'made in Taiwan,'” he said.
“It is amazing to me to see the enormous progress that Taiwan has made. It is, of course, an economic miracle. My view is that the intelligence, the hard work and the determination of the Taiwanese people account for this fact. I am also truly impressed by the progress that Taiwan has made politically. When I left Taiwan in 1987, it was still under martial law. Now it is a vibrant democracy, a very energetic civil society and this is a personal achievement of which the Taiwanese people can be proud,” he said.
“The United States is also proud to the extent that we have been able to give the people of Taiwan support in achieving these goals. The success of our policies is based on the Taiwan Relations Act. Our commitment to these policies is firm and we will continue to do everything we can to strengthen ties between the United States and Taiwan,” he said.
He made no reference to published allegations that during his foreign service career, he has been seen in some quarters as overly influenced by Beijing.
Stanton said that the US-Taiwan relationship was built on shared interests and that he had “an awful lot to do when I get back to Taiwan.”
“I will try to listen very carefully to the people of Taiwan and to get their views on how we can continue to make progress,” he said. “I plan to meet with people from all walks of life — from political leaders to entrepreneurs and people from the cultural world and workers and students and get the best sense that I can of the views of the Taiwan people. I look forward to continuing contact with the Taiwan media.”
Stanton's most recent assignment was as deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Seoul, South Korea. Before that he was deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Australia.
He served two tours of duty at the US embassy in Beijing.
He is married to Karen Clark Stanton, who is also a foreign service officer. They have two daughters, Katherine, 22, and Elizabeth, 18.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS