The top US representative to Taiwan plans to become the new US ambassador to Vietnam, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.
Although the move has not been officially announced by Washington, the media have speculated for months that Raymond Burghardt would take the job in Hanoi, replacing Pete Peterson.
Chen boosted the reports' credibility yesterday while giving Burghardt a medal of honor.
PHOTO: AP
"Mr Burghardt will soon become the US ambassador to Vietnam," Chen was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidential office. "The president would like to congratulate him and say that Taiwan and Vietnam are very close. I hope Mr Burghardt will come back to Taiwan for vacation and see his Taiwanese friends again."
Burghardt's spokeswoman, Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans, said that the diplomat's transfer to Vietnam could not be confirmed and that further questions would have to be answered by the White House.
Because of the time difference between Taiwan and America, White House officials could not be reached yesterday.
For two years, Burghardt has been the director of AIT, the de facto US embassy in Taiwan.
The US Congress will have to approve Burghardt's appointment to Vietnam, and he has yet to be named as an official candidate for confirmation. He is a career foreign service officer who has yet to serve as an ambassador.
Before his current post in Taiwan, he was US consul general in Shanghai from 1997 to 1999. He was the deputy chief of mission in Manila, 1993 to 1996, and Seoul, 1990 to 1993. He was the political counselor in Beijing, 1987 to 1989.
Burghardt has also worked in Vietnam, 1969 to 1971; Guatemala, 1973 to 1975 and Honduras, 1982 to 1985.
Peterson, who won high marks as a diplomat and peacemaker, served as ambassador to Vietnam for four years -- a period that culminated with the signing of a historic trade pact last year.
Peterson left his Hanoi post last month and returned to his home state of Florida. He was a former Air Force pilot whose F-4 Phantom jet was shot down during the Vietnam War. He spent six and a half years as a POW, three in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton" prison where he was tortured and held in solitary confinement before being released in 1973.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source