James Moriarty is reportedly in line to succeed Raymond Burghardt as American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman in Washington, as Burghardt is reportedly retiring, and AIT Washington Office managing director Joseph Donovan has been tapped by US President Barack Obama to be the new US ambassador to Indonesia, sources in Washington said.
Currently a senior adviser for Bower Group Asia, Moriarty is no stranger to the Taiwanese political scene, sources said, adding that he previously served as the AIT’s political section chief, while his wife, Lauren Kahea Moriarty, served as the AIT’s commercial section chief.
James Moriarty was the senior director of the White House National Security Council from 2002 to 2004 and was former US president George W. Bush’s representative to Taiwan when then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sought to tie the 2004 presidential election to a referendum on whether Taiwan should be admitted to the UN under the name “Taiwan.” Taiwan had in the previous 13 years sought entry to the UN using the name the Republic of China.
Photo: Reuters
The sources said that James Moriarty worked in the US embassy in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 and the accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, and is therefore familiar with Chinese diplomatic circles.
His familiarity with Taiwan also made him an influential member of Bush’s administration.
The sources said the AIT chairman in Washington would continue to function in a ceremonial role in greeting visiting Taiwanese officials, as well as attending meetings in Taipei and Washington.
Burghardt was reportedly able to access classified files through the US Pacific Command to keep tabs on Washington’s policies in the Asia-Pacific region and James Moriarty is expected to have the same level of clearance, the sources said.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS