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U.S. lauds Taiwan ties in dedication of new de-facto embassy

Ceremony draws angry response from officials in Beijing

By RALPH JENNINGS, Associated Press
Published: June 12, 2018, 5:44pm
3 Photos
From left, Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) James Moriarty, U.S. assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture Affairs Marie Royce, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, Overseas Buildings Office Principal Deputy Director Ambassador William Moser and AIT Director Kin Moy pose for press before inaugurating during the dedication ceremony of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) , de’facto embassy, new office complex in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, June 12, 2018.
From left, Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) James Moriarty, U.S. assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture Affairs Marie Royce, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, Overseas Buildings Office Principal Deputy Director Ambassador William Moser and AIT Director Kin Moy pose for press before inaugurating during the dedication ceremony of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) , de’facto embassy, new office complex in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. chiang ying-ying/Associated Press Photo Gallery

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The U.S. dedicated a new de-facto embassy in Taiwan on Tuesday in what officials described as an indicator of robust ties with the self-governing island democracy that China claims as its own territory.

The ceremony, which drew an angry response from Beijing, is the latest sign of how the administration of President Donald Trump has strengthened relations with Taipei amid a litany of disputes with China and rising tensions in the highly militarized Taiwan Strait.

The recently completed American Institute in Taiwan office in a suburb of the capital Taipei will house U.S. representatives and serves American interests in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. AIT Director Kin W. Moy — the U.S. ambassador in all but name — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and a senior State Department official from Washington, attended Tuesday’s ceremony, which Beijing slammed as harmful to U.S.-China ties.

“We should all be proud of this milestone, which is a symbol of the close cooperation and enduring friendship between the United States and Taiwan,” Moy said at the dedication ceremony.

Joining Moy was U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce, who called the new office “a symbol of the strength and vibrancy of the U.S.-Taiwan partnership in the 21st century.”

The U.S. switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979 but maintains close economic, political and security ties with Taiwan. Beijing has claimed the island as a breakaway Chinese province and has vowed to take it by force, if necessary.

Also attending the ceremony was Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, whose independence-leaning administration Beijing has sought to isolate diplomatically and threatens with invasion.

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