The new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), William Stanton, reported for duty yesterday and promised to “listen carefully” to the Taiwanese people to improve Taiwan-US ties based on mutual interests.
Speaking briefly at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon his arrival, Stanton said he was honored and delighted to return to Taiwan after living here more than two decades ago.
“Although I last lived in Taiwan 22 years ago, I have many fond memories, including the birth of my older daughter Kate who was therefore — as I said in Washington recently — made in Taiwan,” said Stanton, referring to his experience of studying Chinese in Taipei between 1986 and 1987.
“With virtually no natural resources other than the intelligence and hard work of its people, [Taiwan] is now the 26th largest economy in the world,” Stanton said, calling Taiwan an “economic miracle.”
DEMOCRATIZATION
Stanton, who assumed the post vacated by Stephen Young, also applauded Taiwan’s democratization, recalling that the country was still under martial law when he lived here.
“Now Taiwan is a vibrant democracy built on the foundation of a civil society of the people and non-government organizations. This is an impressive achievement that the people of Taiwan can be proud of,” he said.
ISSUES
Some of the pertinent issues that he expected to tackle during his three years in office include convincing Taiwan to allow a comprehensive opening to US beef, Taiwan’s petition to be included in the US visa-waiver program and US arms sales to Taiwan.
Stanton’s most recent assignment was as deputy chief of the US embassy in South Korea. He also served as Charge d’Affaires ad interim and as deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Canberra, Australia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS