Having enjoyed contributing regular essays to the Liberty Times and Taipei Times now for several years, I feel it is time to pull back. As some of my readers know, I have enjoyed a decades-long relationship with Taiwan. My most recent visit was just a few months ago, when I was invited to deliver a keynote speech at a major conference in Taipei. Unfortunately, my trip intersected with Double Ten celebrations, so I missed the opportunity to call on friends in government, as well as colleagues in the new AIT building, that replaced the old Xin-yi Road complex. I have many fond memories of that place, but following 9/11, we had to move to a more secure structure in northern Taipei.
I first came to Taiwan in 1963, then commonly called Formosa, after the Portuguese settlers who first visited the island hundreds of years ago. I was immediately taken by the place, its outgoing people and magnificent natural beauty. I returned many times, sometimes on short visits, but also for five extended stays, culminating in my appointment by Washington to serve as Director (informal Ambassador) in the early 21st century. I also served tours in Beijing and Hong Kong over more than three decades as a diplomat.
I was lucky to get to know many people over the years, including many of Taiwan’s most distinguished figures and outstanding citizens. I was friends with former presidents Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) and King Liu (劉金標), founder and chairman of Giant Bicycles (the world’s most prominent manufacturer of high-end bicycles). The list could go on, but you get the picture. I say this not to boast, but rather because I was fortunate to gain an extended and profound access to leading representatives of Taiwan politics and business.
As a pre-teenager in the early 1960s, I picked up Taiwanese from the local pedicab drivers. That included a fair amount of swear words in Taiwanese, Mandarin and Hakka. Only later, as a graduate student at the University of Chicago and Middlebury College’s excellent summer school courses in advanced Chinese, did I fully master the language.
I was fortunate to observe this magnificent island as it progressed from an agriculture-based economy to the world’s leading producer of high-end microchips. One of my favorite getaways was climbing some of the island’s highest mountains. I have climbed Yu Shan (Jade Mountain) six times. In fact, I proposed to my wife, Barbara Finamore, a prominent voice on Chinese environment and climate issues, on top of Yu Shan. We have been married now for nearly 42 years.
I think it is fair to say the island of Taiwan has shaped a big part of who I am today. I hope to get more opportunities to visit and see good friends. My family has been fellow travelers through most of these years, including my three children, two of whom became experts on Taiwan and China, while my oldest son became an expert on Russia/the Soviet Union.
It is said that early in life, you focus on your career. Then comes family, and you transfer your professional drive to your home life, always hoping your children get the opportunities they deserve. I am grateful that I have traveled this path successfully and am now enjoying an active retirement. I have written an autobiographical chronology of this story, mostly for my extended family to enjoy and critique. Thanks to the Liberty Times and Taipei Times, I have shared aspects of this journey to my readership here.
But I feel it is time to turn the page. I am blessed to be living in the family home built by my ancestors 220 years ago. I share it with Barbara and look forward to regular visits from our three wonderful children. We now are blessed with two grandchildren; with a little luck, a few more may still to come. If I live long enough, I may become a great-grandfather. But again, that is in the future, with whatever it might bring.
In closing, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Liberty Times and the Taipei Times for affording me a venue to share my thoughts with its readers. If they are willing, I might continue to provide occasional op-eds as I continue to follow this wonderful island and its remarkable people.
With my sincere thanks to the many Taiwan friends I have gotten to know over the years. Yours is a marvelous and continuing story that has earned the attention and praise of people around the world. Sometimes I like to tell American friends that they carry a piece of Taiwan in their pocket. By that I mean those amazing microchips produced by brilliant businessmen, scientists and scholars.
With sincere thanks to the many friends I have made over the years.
Ambassador Stephen M. Young (ret.) lived in Kaohsiung as a boy over 50 years ago, and served in AIT four times: as a young consular officer (1981-’82), as a language student (1989-’90), as Deputy Director (1998-2001) and as Director (2006-’9). He visits often and writes regularly about Taiwan matters. Young was also US Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and Consul General to Hong Kong during his 33-year career as a foreign service officer. He has a BA from Wesleyan University and a PhD from the University of Chicago.
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