Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (
The Bush administration is expected to give the green light to Lee to assume the post, Chen said.
Chen, who is on a visit around the US, dismissed suggestions that the Bush administration has been "procrastinating" on the matter.
"Give them some time," Chen said, adding that Taipei itself spends some time considering the appointments of new US envoys before giving consent.
Meanwhile, Chen addressed rumors circulating in the media that diplomatic relations with Panama and Haiti are under challenge because of interference from Beijing.
He said that although Beijing had tried everything to win favor in Panama since the election of its new president, bilateral ties between Taiwan and Panama are in good shape, adding that he saw no changes to that situation in the foreseeable future.
Panama and China may have closer economic and trade ties following the new administration taking office, but this did not necessarily mean that Panama would sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Chen said.
Chen said that ties with Haiti are also firm and would continue to be so, although China has contributed some peacekeeping troops to the country.
Chen said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was arranging for Premier Yu Shyi-kun to make stopovers in the US on his way to and from the Dominican Republic, where he will attend the inauguration of that nation's newly-elected president next month.
It was still premature to speculate on whether Yu would make stopovers in New York or Washington or both, Chen said.
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