Taiwan's new de-facto ambassador to the US, David Lee (
Lee was greeted at the airport by acting American Institute in Taiwan chairman William Brown and a State Department security official as well as Li Chen-hsiung (
In addition, around 80 pan-blue and pan-green partisans were on hand at Dulles International Airport to meet Lee on his arrival. Lee's supporters and detractors were about equally divided.
PHOTO: NADIA TSAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Although Lee was whisked out of the airport and prevented by police from speaking to Taiwan reporters, he later held a brief press conference at the TECRO headquarters.
Lee said he brought a message from Chen, who Lee said "wants to convey to American officials and the American people that Taiwan will remain as a loyal friend of the United States."
"He asked me to try my very best to consolidate the friendship between the two countries," Lee said.
Speaking about overall US-Taiwan relations, Lee said, "It is very important to enhance the cooperative relations with the US in trying to minimize the possible misunderstandings between us, and I know that we need to work together to cooperate with the US administration to help safeguard peace in the Taiwan Strait.
"I also want to work together with the Americans to try to promote the prosperity of our two countries. Through cooperation we may further consolidate the democratic progress of Taiwan and may try to encourage democratic progress on the mainland," he said.
Lee replaces Chen Chien-jen (
Like Chen, Lee, 55, is a stalwart Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member, but was chosen because of his wide-ranging diplomatic experience and expertise. His most recent post was as representative to the EU in Brussels.
Despite his party affiliation, Lee has repeatedly stated that "a diplomat should loyally serve his country and the people regardless of his political orientation."
One of his first official tasks will be to travel to Boston to observe the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday and meet with Taiwanese Americans taking part in convention-related events.
He is then expected to make the rounds to meet with US administration officials, members of Congress and other key contacts in Washington.
Lee was selected to replace Chen more than two months ago, but the Bush administration gave formal consent to the appointment only on July 2.
He was sworn in by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (
Lee is familiar with Washington, having started his career as a staff consultant to TECRO and having obtained his master's and doctoral degrees at the nearby University of Virginia.
He was also head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston from 1993 to 1996.
During his TECRO stint in the capital, Lee reminded reporters, he met his wife and the two were married in Washington.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS