Sandra Oudkirk yesterday took over as director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) as the country bid farewell to her predecessor, Brent Christensen, who departed for the US.
Oudkirk was seen arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday with a mask bearing the greeting, “Hello Taiwan.”
The AIT in a statement yesterday described Oudkirk as a 30-year veteran of the US Foreign Service with a deep understanding of East Asia and Pacific affairs.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
She is expected to start in her new role after completing 14 days of quarantine and seven days of self-health management in accordance with Taiwan’s COVID-19 protocols, the AIT said.
Oudkirk “looks forward to building on the successes of her predecessors and to further advancing the US-Taiwan relationship,” it said.
Christensen, who had been the de facto US representative in Taiwan since 2018, arrived at the airport with Taiwanese officials at about 8:30am.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
Christensen told reporters that he would “absolutely” return to visit Taiwan.
He was seen waving to reporters as he entered customs to board a US-bound United Airlines flight.
“The first time I left my hometown at age 19, it was to come to Taiwan,” Christensen wrote in a farewell letter released by the AIT on Friday last week.
“From that early age, Taiwan became synonymous for me with the ideas of exchange and understanding, exploration and adventure,” he wrote.
“I may be leaving Taiwan, but Taiwan will never leave me,” he added.
Christensen received a warm send-off from Democratic Progressive Party politicians, who hailed his tenure as a period of significant breakthroughs in Taiwan-US relations.
On June 25, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) awarded Christensen the Order of the Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon in commendation of his efforts in advancing bilateral relations, including facilitating the delivery of 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the US.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) also thanked Christensen for his contributions to Taiwan.
When asked about his gift of Aiwen mangoes to Christensen, Huang said the fruit was originally imported from Florida and to him it symbolized the friendship between the two countries.
“I hope Christensen was able to enjoy the sweetness of this famous Tainan produce, to show my thanks for the fruitfulness of the bilateral relationship that has prospered under his watch over the past years,” Huang said.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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