Sources in Washington said that William Stanton, the US deputy chief of mission to Seoul, is no longer at the top of the list to replace American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Stephen Young when he steps down this summer.
The sources, who spoke on condition of strict anonymity, said Stanton's name had been withdrawn by the US State Department as a result of pressure from congressional members.
From the start, the State Department has refused to comment on the pending appointment and declined to confirm that Stanton was ever their candidate of choice or that he has been dropped.
“It's more than gossip and rumor, but I have not seen anything in writing,” one diplomatic source said.
“The word we are getting is that Stanton is no longer in the running,” a congressional source said.
Stanton came under fire in April after he allegedly made highly insensitive comments about two US journalists — Taiwanese American Laura Ling (凌志美) and Korean-American Euna Lee — who were arrested by the North Koreans on charges that they illegally entered the country.
He was said to have told a group of young congressional staff members visiting the embassy in Seoul that the women were “stupid” and that their case was “distracting from bigger issues.”
Earlier this week both women were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor and US President Barack Obama has become personally involved in trying to win their freedom.
US media have praised the pair's bravery and courage.
Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, touched on the subject in a speech she was scheduled to deliver before a Heritage Foundation conference on Taiwan in Washington on Tuesday.
Because of a last minute scheduling conflict, Ros-Lehtinen was unable to attend the conference, but much of her speech was read by a senior staff member.
“One matter I wish to address, which was omitted in the original Taiwan Relations Act, is the desirability of having Senate confirmation required for the position of Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, as one would with any Ambassadorial position,” the statement read.
“[Former congressman] Mr [Tom] Tancredo put forward such legislation in the past Congress and I have heard that the Taiwan Congressional Caucus may consider similar legislation in the future,” it said.
“This would not only enhance Taiwan's desire for more international space but would also ensure that only the most qualified individuals are considered for the position,” it said.
“Not only has there been controversy about certain past directors, but my understanding is that the current leading candidate for that position made insensitive remarks about our two US citizens in North Korea sentenced only yesterday to years in the North Korean gulag, referring to them as 'stupid.' Is this the kind of representation we want in such a critical posting as Taipei?” the statement said.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but