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Taiwan's New Envoy to Washington Has Deep Ties to America

Natalie Liu

   WASHINGTON - Bi-khim Hsiao, a confidante of Taiwanese President Tsai
   Ing-wen, has arrived in Washington to lead Taiwan's diplomatic mission.
   Hsiao told reporters this week that her schedule has been full of
   teleconferences and some in-person visits since she arrived in
   Washington a week ago.

   On Tuesday, she presided over a ceremony that saw Taiwan donate a
   quarter-million face masks to the American Legion, the largest
   organization of wartime veterans in the United States. The day before,
   she met with the top official at the [1]State Department in charge of
   Asia-Pacific affairs.

   Hsiao is no stranger to America. She grew up in a bicultural household
   -- her father is Taiwanese, her mother an American -- and was educated
   in the United States at Oberlin College and Columbia University. She
   has had previous dealings with U.S. officials, both as a legislator and
   as an adviser to Tsai and other top officials in Taiwan's Democratic
   Progressive Party (DPP).

   Her appointment follows a decisive DPP victory in legislative and
   presidential elections at the start of this year. That has emboldened
   the legislature to introduce changes, including revising the official
   name of the self-governing territory as it appears on passports from
   "Republic of China" to simply "Taiwan."

   The previous name reflected earlier administrations' claims, maintained
   for decades after the 1949 communist revolution, to be the legitimate
   government of all of China.

   Asked before leaving for Washington about the island's delicate
   balancing act between Washington and Beijing, Hsiao said that deepening
   U.S.-Taiwan ties is her natural duty, and that she would leave the rest
   to the officials in Taipei.

   But, she added in an [2]interview with Taiwan's Central News Agency, in
   her own opinion, "any normal person would side with those who support,
   instead of undermine, us."

   At the same time, she acknowledged that Taiwan's geostrategic
   environment requires it to maintain a dialogue with all, including
   those who are not necessarily Taiwan's friends. To that end, Hsiao
   describes her counterpart, Cui Tiankai, Beijing's top representative in
   Washington, as seasoned and highly skilled.

   Under U.S. President Donald Trump, the United States has moved closer
   diplomatically to Taiwan, even at the risk of angering Beijing. But
   Hsiao brushed aside concerns that those ties might suffer setbacks if
   Trump loses his re-election bid, pointing out that Taiwan has long
   enjoyed bipartisan support in the U.S.

References

   1. https://www.voachinese.com/a/us-welcomes-new-taiwan-representative-to-the-us-bi-khim-hsiao-20200728/5521700.html
   2. https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202007110085.aspx

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