A senior US Department of State official with extensive working experience of Taiwan-US affairs is set to become the new director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) this summer.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Kin Moy is to take over from AIT Director Christopher Marut.
Moy has served in the US Foreign Service for more than 20 years. He most recently had responsibility for Taiwan, China and Mongolia affairs.
Photo courtesy of the American Institute in Taiwan
Prior to that assignment, he served as a senior adviser to former US secretaries of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright.
In addition, he has served in the US embassy in Beijing, the US embassy in Seoul and the US Consulate in Busan, South Korea.
As a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service, he holds the rank of minister counselor.
Moy, married with four children, graduated from Columbia University and the University of Minnesota. He is a Mandarin speaker.
He takes over as director of the AIT at a particularly sensitive time, with the presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan in January next year.
Moy is also expected to be deeply involved in Taiwan’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement next year.
“Maintaining and deepening our strong unofficial relations with Taiwan is an important part of US engagement in Asia,” Moy said in his most recent major speech on US-Taiwan affairs at the Carnegie Endowment.
He said that much of the history of the 21st century would be written in Asia and a critical part of the US’ strategy would be “building the comprehensive, durable, mutually beneficial relationship between the US and Taiwan.”
“Our broad ranging, unofficial relationship is deeply in the interests of the US. It is founded on our shared values — a commitment to freedom and democracy — and cultivated through our ongoing spirit of cooperation,” Moy said.
Taiwan is recognized around the world, he said, as a model for both economic development and democratic reform.
Moy said that the US fully supports Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement and encourages Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in organizations where its membership is not possible.
On cross-strait relations, Moy said in the Carnegie speech that the US commended the progress achieved in recent years and encouraged both sides to continue those efforts.
“The reason is straightforward; maintenance of cross-strait stability is essential to the US goal of promoting peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anna Kao (高安) said the government welcomes the appointment of Moy, who has played a part in mapping out US policies on Asia-Pacific affairs and “is familiar with the development of Taipei-Washington ties.”
“We believe that Moy will help expand and advance the Taiwan-US partnership, based on the strong foundations laid by his predecessor, Christopher Marut,” Kao said.
Moy is set to be the first AIT director of Chinese descent since the institution was established in 1979 after the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
Additional reporting by CNA
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS