Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Nat Bellocchi died on Monday at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, aged 88.
His family found him in his bed that morning after he apparently passed away peacefully in his sleep.
A frequent contributor to the Taipei Times’ opinion page, Bellocchi was head of the AIT from 1990 to 1995, a period of high tension and drama.
Photo: CNA
In May 1994, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) was infuriated when the US government would not allow him to leave the airport for a meeting with local Taiwanese community representatives during a stopover in Honolulu, Hawaii. The next year, the US Congress pressured then-US president Bill Clinton’s administration to allow Lee to visit his alma mater, Cornell University, in New York. Bellocchi was the highest-ranking US official to welcome Lee when he arrived at Cornell.
Soon after, Beijing used the visit as an excuse to fire missiles into the Taiwan Strait in the summer of 1995 and again in March 1996, at the time of Taiwan’s first democratic presidential election.
After retiring, Bellocchi closely monitored Taiwan-US relations and regularly wrote opinion pieces for the Taipei Times and its sister newspaper, the Chinese-language Liberty Times, detailing his observations.
Nat Bellocchi was also a special adviser to the Liberty Times Group.
“He [Bellocchi] argued for more international support for Taiwan and wanted the island brought into international organizations such as the United Nations,” Formosan Association for Public Affairs senior policy adviser Gerrit van der Wees said.
“Bellocchi urged the US to help bring Taiwan out of its international diplomatic isolation by enhancing ties with the new and vibrant democracy,” Van der Wees added.
Bellocchi enlisted in the US military when the Korean War broke out in 1950, serving as a first lieutenant in the rifle platoon of the 23rd Infantry.
He joined the US diplomatic service after completing his education at Georgetown University in 1955.
Bellocchi worked with the US’ diplomatic courier service in eastern and southern Europe, surviving a plane crash when the DC-3 he was flying in encountered engine trouble and had to be ditched in the Mediterranean Sea.
“Fortunately, Bellocchi and his diplomatic pouches survived the crash,” Van der Wees said.
Bellocchi served in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Laos and Vietnam, with the latter posting coming during the height of the Vietnam War.
He met his wife, Lilian, in Taiwan and the couple had two children, Luke and Jacqualine.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, Bellocchi served in Japan and India, and was later appointed US ambassador to Botswana.
He told friends that the AIT posting was “the most difficult and historic journey of my entire life.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs remembered Bellocchi for his contributions to bilateral relations over the past decades.
The Democratic Progressive Party also paid tribute to Bellocchi, with Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) saying: “Our hearts go out to Ambassador Bellocchi’s family in this time of sorrow.”
Additional reporting by CNA
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
RSS