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.
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