Outgoing American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen bade farewell to Taiwan yesterday in an open letter, saying he will never forget the ways Taiwan has touched him personally.
“I will remember all the ways big and small that you, the people of Taiwan, touched my life and the lives of my family, and for that, I thank you,” he wrote in the letter published on the AIT Web site. “I may be leaving Taiwan, but Taiwan will never leave me.”
Christensen took up the post in August 2018 and is to leave Taiwan this month, although the AIT has not said specifically when he will depart.
Christensen said he is leaving the AIT with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that the Taiwan-US partnership is deeper and stronger than ever, and is immensely proud of his “small role in getting us there.”
Among the high points during Christensen’s tenure were the US donation of 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, the relaxation of restrictions for US government officials’ interaction with their Taiwanese counterparts, the regularization of arms sales to Taiwan, the signing of a coast guard cooperation deal and the resumption of high-level trade talks.
He lauded Taiwan’s dynamism, consistency, progress, innovation and tradition.
For the US, Taiwan exemplifies the intersection of shared interests and shared values, which include freedom, diversity, equality and transparency, he said.
In the letter, Christensen also looked back, saying Taiwan was the first foreign destination he visited when he left his hometown at age 19.
“Taiwan represented both disorienting foreignness and unexpected opportunity, as I tried new food and learned to navigate my way through streets crowded with bicycles and scooters,” he said.
The de facto US ambassador to Taiwan has served in the nation three times, the first as a consular officer in 1989. His second assignment was as the AIT’s deputy director from 2012 to 2015.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Sandra Oudkirk has been appointed as the new head of the office.
A New York-based NGO has launched a global initiative to rename the nation’s overseas missions, most of which operate under the name "Taipei," to "Taiwan Representative Office (TRO)," according to a news release. Ming Chiang (江明信), CEO of Hello Taiwan, announced the campaign at a news conference in Berlin on Monday, coinciding with the World Forum held from Monday through Wednesday, the institution stated in the release. Speaking at the event, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said she believed this renaming campaign would enable the international community to see Taiwan
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
TOO DANGEROUS: The families agreed to suspend crewed recovery efforts that could put rescuers in danger from volcanic gases and unstable terrain The bodies of two Taiwanese tourists and a Japanese pilot have been located inside a volcanic crater, Japanese authorities said yesterday, nearly a month after a sightseeing helicopter crashed during a flight over southwestern Japan. Drone footage taken at the site showed three bodies near the wreckage of the aircraft inside a crater on Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, police and fire officials said. The helicopter went missing on Jan. 20 and was later found on a steep slope inside the Nakadake No. 1 Crater, about 50m below the rim. Authorities said that conditions at the site made survival highly unlikely, and ruled
RSS