Former vice minister of foreign affairs and top envoy to the EU Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) has been appointed representative to the US, replacing Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who resigned to join Vice President William Lai (賴清德) as his running mate on the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential ticket.
Hsiao earlier this week returned to Washington to bid farewell to her colleagues and hand over her duties before returning to campaign for January’s elections.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) has been appointed as representative to the EU and Belgium, to succeed Yui, Presidential Office spokeswoman Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said.
Photo: Chen Yun, Taipei Times
“The US is Taiwan’s most important partner in the international community. Both sides have maintained a good friendship and extensive ties in the past few years, while closely collaborating in many sectors,” Lin said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) appointed Yui based on his diplomatic experience serving in numerous countries over his career, allowing him to immediately step into his new role to further boost Taiwan-US relations, Lin said.
Yui has previously served in Paraguay, Geneva, El Salvador and New York, was head of the foreign ministry’s Department of Latin America and Caribbean Affairs, and was vice foreign minister for about two years.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
He has promoted trilateral links and exchanges among Taiwan, the US and Latin America, helping to expand the scope of Taiwan’s foreign affairs initiatives and establish wide-ranging networks among the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking diplomatic circles of the Americas, Lin said.
Yui has a bachelor’s degree in political science and modern languages, and a master’s degree in Spanish literature from Texas A&M University.
After serving as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US for three years, Hsiao tendered her resignation last week, which was approved by Tsai and takes effect today.
Hsiao on Tuesday wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it had been “an honor” to represent Taiwan in the US.
“As I embark on another challenging path, I am truly grateful to all who have worked with me to strengthen the Taiwan US partnership over the last three years,” she wrote.
“Taiwanese diplomats can never take support for granted. We know we must earn it and work for it,” she said, adding that she would “miss the cherry blossoms and colorful foliage of DC,” as well as “the warmth of bipartisan friends who have committed to stand with Taiwan.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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