The new director of the American Institution in Taiwan (AIT), Douglas Paal, arrived in Taipei yesterday to take up his post, which had been vacant for nearly a year.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Katharine Chang (
Paal was greeted by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (
After his arrival, Paal said he was anxious to get to work and that he had extensive meetings with US officials before he traveled to Taiwan.
``They made clear to me that Taiwan enjoys an especially warm respect among them and among Americans for its political and economic achievements,'' he said.
Paal, an Asia specialist and former diplomat, was officially nominated as the de facto US ambassador in April.
Paal replaces career diplomat Raymond Burghardt, who left the post last September and is now US ambassador to Vietnam.
The delay in Paal's appointment has been partly blamed on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US, which preoccupied Washington for several months and caused a backlog in appointments and security checks for new officials.
His appointment might have also been delayed by some influential US conservatives, including Senator Jesse Helms, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Helms has questioned whether Paal has been supportive enough of Taiwan.
Paal formerly served as special assistant to former president George Bush for national security affairs and senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council.
He also served in the administration of former president Ronald Reagan and in the US embassies in Beijing in 1980 and Singapore in 1982 to 1984.
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