President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday conferred the Order of Brilliant Star on outgoing American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin Moy as recognition of his contribution to Taiwan-US ties.
At a ceremony at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Tsai awarded Moy the second-highest level of the Order of Brilliant Star, which is given to civil servants, non-civil servants and foreign nationals for remarkable dedication.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) last month conferred on Moy the Grand Medal of Diplomacy, the highest honor Taiwan gives to an individual for diplomatic contributions.
Photo: CNA
Tsai said that when Moy took office three years ago, he set three goals: building trust with the Taiwanese government, showing Taiwanese that the US is Taiwan’s best friend and completing the construction of the AIT’s new compound in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).
“I believe Director Moy has achieved all three goals,” Tsai said.
During his tenure, Moy also proved himself to be the best friend of Taiwan, she said, citing the AIT head’s close interactions with local government officials and the trips he made to many parts of Taiwan, as well as the creative way in which he has engaged the public through Facebook.
“Director Moy is set to leave his post later this month, and I know his one regret is that he has not been able to visit Kinmen,” Tsai said. “I want to tell him that, other than Kinmen, there are many parts of Taiwan that look forward to him visiting again.”
“Taiwan will always be your second home,” she added.
In his speech, Moy attributed achievements in Taiwan-US relations over the past three years to the hard work of AIT staff, who he said were instrumental in helping him fulfill his vision for ties between Washington and Taipei.
Moy said AIT staff are the reason he is confident that the US’ partnership with Taiwan will continue to prosper long after his departure.
He then jokingly said that as he would soon be out of a job, he has talked to Tsai about pulling some strings to help him secure the position of National Taiwan University president.
The university’s presidency has been dogged by controversies for months due to the Ministry of Education’s refusal to confirm the school’s nomination of former National Development Council minister Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) as its president, citing the university’s failure to avoid conflicts of interest in the election process.
Moy is to be succeeded by former AIT deputy director Brent Christensen this summer, but the AIT has yet to announce when Christensen is to take office.
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
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
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and