Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said he is deeply moved by Taiwan’s democratic development and finds it remarkable, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday cited him as saying.
Christensen, who served as director of the AIT from 2018 to 2021, recently visited Taiwan and met with Lin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei on Friday last week.
Lin yesterday on Facebook wrote that when Christensen was about to leave his post and return to the US in 2021, Lin and his wife visited the former AIT director to bid him farewell, and gave him a train ticket from Yongkang (永康) to Baoan (保安) station in Tainan as a gift to wish him all the best.
Photo: Screen grab from Lin Chia-lung’s Facebook page
The ticket with the two station names forms the phrase Yong Bao An Kang (永保安康), meaning “peace and health forever” when read counterclockwise.
Christensen later became the charge d’affaires of the US Mission to the International Civil Aviation Organization, and assisted in Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the organization, Lin said, adding that he is “a good friend of Taiwan through and through.”
Having retired from the US Department of State, Christensen is now teaching cross-strait relations at Brigham Young University in his home state, Utah, Lin said.
Lin said that the former AIT director told him that after retiring from public service, he finally has time to dive deep into Taiwan’s history, and that he is deeply moved by Taiwan’s democratization journey, calling it remarkable.
Christensen also believes the high number and quality of Chinese language teachers from Taiwan can help more foreign nationals learn the language, he said.
Christensen also mentioned that he looks forward to seeing more Taiwanese students going abroad as part of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Youth Overseas Dream Fund program, and that they can choose to study at Brigham Young University, Lin said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
RSS