Obama Names Taiwan Liaison
[Guest post by DRJ]
The Obama Administration has named William Stanton as the new director of the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto ambassador to Taiwan. Taiwan is a sensitive diplomatic post for U.S. interests, especially as the Taiwanese government has moved to align its economic interests with China in recent years:
“One of Stanton’s main challenges will be to maintain a robust U.S. profile in Taiwan, as President Ma Ying-jeou presses forward in his ambitious program to improve relations with China.
Since taking power last May, Ma has jettisoned the more China-wary policies of his predecessors and moved the economies closer together.
That has raised questions of whether the U.S. is being left behind in a region where it had a vital stake during the Cold War.”
Blogging at One Free Korea, Joshua Stanton (no relation to William Stanton) has questioned William Stanton’s diplomatic skills and claims Stanton is “known for his strong support for Chinese policies” and accused of having “impeded internal reports critical of the Chinese regime.” Similarly, USC’s US-China Institute translates a 4/9/2009 VOA article that states some view Stanton as “pro-Beijing.”
Is the Obama Administration headed for an anti-democracy trifecta? Iran-Honduras-Taiwan.
UPDATE: Steve points out a Taiwan blogger who thinks everyone should keep an open mind about Stanton’s views.
– DRJ
relax: everything is going just as Ear Leader has planed….
all hail Ear Leader!
Comment by redc1c4 — 7/2/2009 @ 1:17 pm
This administration is shaping up to be the greatest foreign-policy disaster since…….?
Comment by AD - RtR/OS! — 7/2/2009 @ 1:23 pm
Carter? No, he’s already well on his way to surpassing the infamous peanut farmer.
Comment by Dmac — 7/2/2009 @ 1:27 pm
They sent Kmeic to Malta as ambassador. He can do little harm there.
Comment by Mike K — 7/2/2009 @ 1:27 pm
“Pardon moi, but do you have a bottle of Iran-Honduras-Taiwan Trifecta?”
“But of course!”
Comment by GM Roper — 7/2/2009 @ 1:29 pm
Trifecta? Why stop there?
Comment by Kevin Murphy — 7/2/2009 @ 1:37 pm
I guess it would be incorrect to call President Obama “the leader of the free world.”
Comment by Kevin Murphy — 7/2/2009 @ 1:44 pm
Similarly, USC’s US-China Institute translates a 4/9/2009 VOA article that states some view Stanton as “pro-Beijing.”
An apparent reference to the same Taipei Times article the blogger noticed. Its author, William Lowther, had since been telling readers Stanton was out of the running.
Their rival rival publication had praise for Stanton from his outgoing predecessor in their lead paragraph and headline.
Comment by steve — 7/2/2009 @ 2:10 pm
steve – Do you expect Young to say that Syanton is a dirty socialist fuck up in public? Seriously?
Comment by daleyrocks — 7/2/2009 @ 2:31 pm
Well, it qualifies as “change”.
Comment by Techie — 7/2/2009 @ 3:56 pm
steve – Do you expect Young to say that Syanton is a dirty socialist fuck up in public?
There’s no credible reason to believe either Young or Stanton are, actually.
An on-scene blogger who downloaded the same quotes from Taipei Times about Stanton, highlights this:
Blogger Joshua Stanton practices law in Washington, D.C and once served in Korea.
Comment by steve — 7/2/2009 @ 4:04 pm
Any relation to Stanton, California?
Comment by hortense (aka horace) — 7/2/2009 @ 5:06 pm
steve,
I’ve updated the post to add a link to the blogger you mentioned.
Comment by DRJ — 7/2/2009 @ 7:07 pm
You are very kind.
Ud. es muy amable.
Comment by steve — 7/2/2009 @ 7:45 pm
Gracias, steve, I try to be kind but this is common sense. I’m interested in getting the complete picture and input from several sources helps us get a better picture.
Comment by DRJ — 7/2/2009 @ 7:54 pm
An ambassador can censor any message coming out of an embassy unless it is sent “back channel.” Stanton repeatedly stopped any mention of the PRC aggressive moves and worked hard to quash anyone who held opposing views. He is a good little Marxist and just the type of lemming Obama would employ.
What is scary is that there are so many at State and the CIA who are like this.
Comment by Thomas Jackson — 7/3/2009 @ 10:10 am
[...] to use Georgia’s democratic aspirations as a negotiation tactic with Russia or pitch the independent pining of Taiwan as a potential burnt offering to the Chinese. Comprehensively, these actions represent a stunning [...]
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