Taiwan's representative to the US, Chen Chien-jen (
Chen Chien-jen had sought to leave before the swearing-in, but relative nearness of the date will likely make it impossible for him to do so, he told a "tea party" press conference for Taiwan's press corps Tuesday.
"I would love to leave before the 20th of May, but I don't think it's likely," Chen Chien-jen said. "I want to be sure that the transition is very smooth and I believe my government wants me to stay for a little while longer, so that the transition can be very smooth."
Meanwhile, Chen Chien-jen's deputy, Michael Tsai (
Tsai told the Taipei Times that he submitted his resignation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs early last month, and that he hopes to return to Taipei by the end of this month.
He said that "nobody has consulted me" about a new government position.
Regarding Lee's appointment, Chen Chien-jen said that the process by which the Taiwan government notifies the US of its decision to appoint Lee to the top position in the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, and Washington then accepts the appointment, would "usually take a few weeks."
The actual time, Chen said, depends on the candidate.
"If the candidate is well known and has a lot of experience in the United States and in Washington in particular, that might facilitate the process. Otherwise it may take a little longer."
"Dave has served here before. If he's the candidate, I think it shouldn't take too long" for the process to be completed, Chen Chien-jen said.
Asked about whether Taipei and Washington conferred with each other before the decision to name Lee had been made, he said that is not necessarily the case.
"We usually respect each other, and before we decide who the candidate is, we think about a lot of things, including his experience and relations with people in the United States. So, usually there have not been any difficulties," Chen Chien-jen said.
Regarding the inauguration speech itself, Chen said the Taiwan government has not given an advanced text to the US government for vetting.
"We haven't even finished drafting it," he said.
Nevertheless, the two sides have "exchanged views" on the speech to head off any problems.
"Whatever the United States is concerned about, we try to let them know that they should not be concerned," Chen Chien-jen said. "We not only take care of our own national interests, we are also aware of US interests."
"We are good friends. We don't want to in any way do anything with which our friends are concerned and are ignored," he said.
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