The chair position of the American Institute in Taiwan, the US's de-facto Taiwan embassy, has been vacant for over eight months. What does this mean for AIT and for US-Taiwan ties?
00:00Here, U.S. Congress members and representatives of Taiwan's diplomatic allies are among hundreds of guests gathered for an annual celebration of Taiwan's National Day in Washington, D.C., but with one noticeable absence.
00:18The top official at the U.S.'s de facto Taiwan embassy, its U.S.-based chair, who often attends this event, is missing.
00:25That's because right now, the American Institute in Taiwan, or AIT, has no chair.
00:31Its previous chair, Laura Rosenberger, exited the post in January as U.S. President Donald Trump started his second term.
00:39AIT kept the move low-key, only confirming her departure after local media spotted that she was suddenly listed on the AIT website as a former chair,
00:48and that her profile picture and name had been removed from the AIT chair account on X.
00:53Now, over eight months later, the role still has not been filled.
01:00Taiwan Plus spoke with multiple people familiar with the matter, including current and former officials from both Taiwan and the U.S.,
01:08most of whom requested anonymity, to understand more about what this may mean.
01:12We learned from at least two sources that conversations about a new AIT chair are ongoing,
01:19with veteran diplomat Brent Christensen floated as a possibility.
01:23Christensen, who headed the AIT's Taipei office from 2018 to 2021, did not respond to a request for comment on these conversations.
01:31Some feel filling this role is important.
01:36As the top official at AIT, the chair is an intermediary between the U.S. and Taiwan.
01:42The two sides don't have official diplomatic relations, cut off in 1979 when the U.S. established relations with China,
01:49but they do maintain unofficial ties, which the AIT chair helps maintain.
01:54For example, they meet with Taiwanese officials when they visit the U.S.
02:04When you have someone at a senior level come from Taiwan, they don't want to be shown respect.
02:11And having that chairman at that senior level who can say,
02:14Oh, I talked to the secretary of state, and he asked me to say thank you for something you had done for him a year ago.
02:20You know, technically it's not important, but yeah, it really is important.
02:25The chair also helps formulate and execute U.S. policy on Taiwan, participating in U.S. government meetings.
02:33When the post is empty, Keegan says it's possible their seat could be filled with someone with less specific expertise on the country.
02:40When it comes to Taiwan-specific issues, they can't say,
02:45Oh yeah, I was talking to Ray Green in Taipei on the phone yesterday, and we were trying to hash this out.
02:50And here's what we heard.
02:52That doesn't happen.
02:54And that's a weakness, particularly on an issue as sensitive as Taiwan.
02:59Other former U.S. diplomats say filling the role may be an important signal for U.S.-Taiwan relations.
03:06I'm certain it's important to have the chair.
03:08I think, you know, the staff who are actually at the AIT missions, you know, in Kaohsiung and in Taipei are doing their job very, very well.
03:21But I do think it would be appropriate and important as at least a signal of the importance of the relationship between Taiwan and the United States
03:28that the chair position be filled as soon as possible.
03:32But there are others who view the role as less critical.
03:35One former AIT official called the position primarily ceremonial, emphasizing that its responsibilities can now be performed by others.
03:45Though the presence of an AIT chair could still be seen as symbolic, the official said,
03:50it has little impact on AIT's operations or U.S. policy on Taiwan.
03:55A former Taiwan diplomat also pointed out that on central U.S.-Taiwan issues this year, like trade talks between the two sides,
04:04U.S. and Taiwanese negotiators were able to meet directly and did not need the AIT chair as an intermediary.
04:11Chair vacancies are not necessarily unusual, Keegan said, during periods of transition between U.S. administrations.
04:18But this does appear to be the longest gap in recent years.
04:22The longest ever vacancy was around two years, between 2004 and 2006.
04:28But records show there was a designated acting chair during that time.
04:32Keegan and other sources say the holdup in appointing a new chair may be due to multiple parts of the U.S. government
04:39needing to agree on a candidate, which may take some time.
04:42It's also part of a wider trend, as the Trump administration has moved slowly on appointing many senior-level diplomatic positions,
04:51many of which remain open.
04:53This could have to do with understaffing in some offices, as well as other factors.
04:58It's also because this administration wants to go through a far more intensive political loyalty betting.
05:06OK, and that means not only are you only getting candidates from one party,
05:13you're only getting candidates from one sliver of one party.
05:18And that means you don't have a lot of candidates.
05:21This also comes as the Trump administration has several times appeared to undercut relations with Taiwan
05:28during trade negotiations with China.
05:30And as Trump says, he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in person later this month.
05:36AIT did not respond to a request for comment.
05:41In a statement, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department,
05:44which is responsible for recommending a candidate to the AIT Board of Trustees,
05:48said it has no announcements at this time regarding the chair position,
05:52but stressed that the U.S.'s position on Taiwan has not changed,
05:55remaining committed to its one-China policy and preserving stability in the Taiwan Strait.
06:00The U.S. Senate did also just approve dozens of political appointees,
06:05including diplomatic posts, signaling some movement on that front.
06:10But for the U.S.'s de facto embassy in Taiwan,
06:13it's still unclear how long the wait will be to get its top spot filled.
06:19James Lin and Keynes Quaranta for Taiwan Plus.
06:21James Lin and Keynes Quaranta for Silent Tonic
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