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American Institute in Taiwan

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25°1′56.81″N 121°32′22.41″E / 25.0324472°N 121.5395583°E / 25.0324472; 121.5395583

American Institute in Taiwan
美國在台協會
FoundedWashington, D.C. (January 16, 1979 (1979-01-16))
FounderHarvey J. Feldman (U.S. diplomat)[1]
TypeU.S. Government-Sponsored Nonprofit, Private Corporation
HeadquartersRosslyn, Arlington, Virginia
Location
Area served
Taiwan
ServicesDe facto embassy functions
Chairperson
Laura Rosenberger
Director
Raymond F. Greene[2]
SubsidiariesAmerican Institute in Taiwan Kaohsiung Branch Office
Websitewww.ait.org.tw Edit this at Wikidata
Under authorization by the Taiwan Relations Act
American Institute in Taiwan
Traditional Chinese美國在台協會
Simplified Chinese美国在台协会
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMěiguó Zài Tái Xiéhuì

The American Institute in Taiwan[3] (AIT; Chinese: 美國在台協會; pinyin: Měiguó Zài Tái Xiéhuì) is the de facto embassy of the United States of America in Taiwan. AIT is a wholly owned subsidiary of the federal government of the United States in Taiwan with Congressional oversight.[4] The AIT was officially created as a U.S. government-sponsored nonprofit, private corporation established under the auspices of the U.S. government to serve its interests in Taiwan.

Primarily staffed by employees of the United States Department of State and local workers, the AIT provides consular services normally offered by United States diplomatic missions, with the Great Seal of the State Department hung at the main office in Taipei. The establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1979 required the United States to develop its own "One China policy" and subsequently to terminate official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan). The AIT now serves to assist and protect U.S. interests in Taiwan in a quasiofficial manner,[5] and also processes U.S. visas and provides consular services to U.S. expatriates. Following the swift passage of the 2018 Taiwan Travel Act by the United States, it now serves as a high-level representative bureau on behalf of United States in Taiwan.[6] It receives full protection from the United States Marine Corps as do all U.S. embassies.[7][8][9]

Overview

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AIT is a nonprofit corporation established pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act to manage America's unofficial relationship with Taiwan; it was incorporated in the District of Columbia on 16 January 1979[10] after the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with the PRC on January 1, 1979. This model, with an alternative form of American representative office established in Taiwan after the diplomatic relations were severed, was based on the AIT's Japanese counterpart stationed in Taipei since 1972,[11]: 52  and was therefore referred to as the Japanese Model (日本モデル, Nihon-moderu).[12]: 140 

Following the authorization of the Taiwan Relations Act, the Department of State, through a semiofficial contract with AIT, provides guidance and "funds a large part of AIT’s operations." Like other U.S. missions abroad, AIT is staffed by employees of the Department of State and other agencies of the United States, as well as by locally hired staff. Prior to a 2002 amendment to the Foreign Service Act (Section 503 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended by the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003), United States government employees were required to resign from government service for their period of assignment to AIT. According to Section 12 (a) of the Taiwan Relations Act, agreements conducted by AIT have to be reported to Congress, just as other international agreements concluded by United States and governments with which it has diplomatic relations. Thus, while relations between the U.S. and Taiwan through AIT are conducted on an informal basis, the U.S. government still treats the relationship within the same confines as with other states with formal diplomatic relations.[13][14]

AIT has a small headquarters office in Arlington County, Virginia with its largest office located in Taipei, Taiwan. The organization also has a branch office in Taiwan's strategic southern port city of Kaohsiung.[15] These three bureaus are referred to as AIT/Washington (AIT/W), AIT/Taipei (AIT/T) and AIT/Kaohsiung (AIT/K), respectively.[16]

The AIT office complex at No. 100 Jin Hu Road, Neihu District, Taipei, was inaugurated in 2019. AIT/Taipei was previously located in the Daan District on the former site of the U.S. Military Advisory Group headquarters before 1979. AIT has a branch office in Kaohsiung.[17]

For the purposes of remuneration and benefits, directors of the AIT hold the same rank as ambassador and, in Taiwan, are accorded diplomatic privileges in their capacity as directors.

Its counterpart in the United States is the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.

In May 2024, Raymond Greene was announced as the incoming AIT director, effective summer 2024, succeeding Sandra Oudkirk.[18][19] During Greene's first meeting with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, he said the United States' longstanding policy on Taiwan is based on the "one China policy", which acknowledges that Taiwan is a part of China, and that there is only one China. In a press release describing the meeting, Lai's office omitted the one China reference, and instead described Greene's remarks as having referenced "the longstanding U.S. policy."[20] Lai's office denied it intentionally omitted the reference to the one China policy, which was challenged by local Taiwanese media.[21]

New compound in Taipei

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Seal of the United States Department of State shown at the new institute compound

A new $250 million compound for the American Institute in Taiwan was unveiled in June 2018, accompanied by a "low-key" U.S. delegation[22] and several mid-level diplomats.[citation needed] According to the AIT the new complex represents "the United States' brick-and-mortar commitment to Taiwan."[23]

In 2019 director Christensen buried a time capsule at the new AIT complex in Neihu. The time capsule is not to be unearthed for 50 years.[23]

Principal officers

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List of directors

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Former Director Oudkirk

List of deputy directors

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List of political section chiefs

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The Political Section, originally known as the General Affairs Section (GAS),[38][11]: 66  is led by a chief which is similar to a political counselor in other embassies.[12]: 2 

Chiefs, General Affairs Section
  • Mark S. Pratt (1979–1981)[12]: 2 
  • Stanley R. Ifshin (1981–1983)[38]: 73 [39]
  • David E. Reuther (1983–1985)
  • Joseph J. Borich (1985–unknown)
  • Thomas V. Biddick (1989– unknown)
  • Douglas G. Spelman (unknown)
  • James F. Moriarty (1995–1998)
  • Eunice Reddick (1997–2000)[40]
Chiefs, Political Section
  • Joseph R. Donovan Jr. (2000–2003)[41]
  • Melvin T. L. Ang (2003–2004)[42]
  • James L. Huskey (2004–2008)
  • David H. Rank (2008–2010)
  • Daniel Turnbull (2010–2013)
  • William Klein (2013–2016)
  • Christian M. Marchant (2016–2019)
  • Bradley S. Parker (2019–present)[43]

List of commercial officers

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  • William D. McClure (1981–1986)
  • Raymond Sander (1987–1997)
  • William Brekke (1997–2000)
  • Terry Cooke (2000–2003)
  • Gregory Loose (2003–2006)
  • Gregory Wong (2006–2010)
  • Helen Hwang (2010–unknown)
  • Scott Pozil (2011–2013)
  • Amy Chang (2010–2013)

Kaohsiung

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  • Robert Leach (2000–2003)
  • Steve Green (2009–2011)
  • Gregory Harris (2011–present)

See AIT Commercial Section

List of chairpersons

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Chairman James Moriarty and President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Taiwan Relations Act -- Past, and Perhaps Future by Harvey J. Feldman". Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  2. ^ "Raymond F. Greene Assumes Position as AIT Director". American Institute in Taiwan. 9 July 2024.
  3. ^ The AIT's official name is "The American Institute in Taiwan" (including the word "The" - See the Register of Corporations, Washington DC records)
  4. ^ "The Quasi Government - Federation of American Scientists" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-27.
  5. ^ Beech, Keyes; Times, Los Angeles (1980-09-04). "For U.S. Quasi-Embassy in Taiwan, Silence is Golden". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  6. ^ Steve, Chabot (2018-03-16). "Text - H.R.535 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Taiwan Travel Act". www.congress.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  7. ^ "US sending American personnel to guard de facto Taiwan embassy". 2018-08-30. Archived from the original on 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  8. ^ "U.S. Confirms active military personnel posted at AIT since 2005". Archived from the original on 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  9. ^ "Asia Times | Marines to guard new US compound in Taiwan | Article". 4 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  10. ^ District of Columbia Register of Corporations[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ a b "Foreign Affairs Oral History Project: Ambassador Harry E.T. Thayer" (PDF). The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST). 1990-11-19. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  12. ^ a b c "Foreign Affairs Oral History Project: Mark S. Pratt" (PDF). The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST). 1999-10-21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  13. ^ New US diplomatic immunity pact a breakthrough: MOFA Archived 2018-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, The China Post, February 6, 2013
  14. ^ "U.S. Relations With Taiwan". state.gov.
  15. ^ "AIT Kaohsiung Branch Office Moving to China Steel Building | the American Institute in Taiwan - Kaohsiung Branch Office". Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  16. ^ "Introduction to the American Institute in Taiwan". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  17. ^ "AIT Kaohsiung Branch Office". American Institute in Taiwan. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  18. ^ Press, Associated (2024-05-29). "U.S. Appoints Raymond Greene as New De-Facto Ambassador to Taiwan". TIME. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  19. ^ "American Institute in Taiwan names Raymond Greene as new director". taiwannews.com.tw. May 29, 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  20. ^ 聯合新聞網. "新聞眼／一中政策「消音」 賴總統恐傷及美信任". 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  21. ^ Thomson, Jono (July 12, 2024). "Taiwan News".
  22. ^ Horton, Chris (June 12, 2018). "U.S. Unveils an Office in Taiwan, but Sends No Top Officials". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  23. ^ a b Tzu-ti, Huang (19 July 2019). "AIT director buries time capsule for future successors". www.taiwannews.com.tw. Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  24. ^ 總統贈勳並接見美國在台協會理事主席薄瑞光. Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 19 May 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2020. 陳總統水扁先生今天上午代表我國政府與人民頒贈美國在台協會理事主席薄瑞光（Raymond F. Burghardt）「大綬卿雲勳章」，以表彰他致力於促進台灣與美國之間友好關係所作的卓越貢獻。
  25. ^ "Director - Sandra Oudkirk". American Institute in Taiwan. Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  26. ^ "Raymond F. Greene Assumes Position as AIT Director". American Institute in Taiwan. 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  27. ^ "美國在台協會 浦為廉副處長 結束在華任期" [AIT Deputy Director William Brown ends his tenure in the ROC]. United Daily News. 1979-09-04. p. 02.
  28. ^ "Foreign Affairs Oral History Project: John J. Tkacik, Jr" (PDF). The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 2001-03-23. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-28.
  29. ^ "Foreign Affairs Oral History Project: William W. Thomas, Jr". The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 1994-05-31. p. 46. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-28.
  30. ^ David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (2001). Window on the Forbidden City: The Beijing Diaries of David Bruce, 1973-1974. Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong. p. 549. ISBN 978-9628269341.
  31. ^ "AIT Announces New Deputy Director". West & East, an independent monthly. 31. Sino-American Cultural and Economic Association: 15. 1986. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11.
  32. ^ "Biography James A. Larocco: Ambassador to the State of Kuwait". U.S. Department of State. 1997. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12.
  33. ^ "Biography Christopher J. LaFleur: Ambassador, Malaysia". U.S. Department of State. 2005-01-04. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11.
  34. ^ "New Dean brings wealth of experience from Asia-Pacific". Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. 2010-09-02. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24.
  35. ^ "New AIT Deputy Director Takes Office". American Institute in Taiwan. 1998-08-19. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10.
  36. ^ "曾派駐台北 谷立言接任Ait副處長 | 政治 | 要聞 | 聯合新聞網". Archived from the original on 2018-06-24. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  37. ^ "Deputy Director - Jeremy Cornforth". American Institute in Taiwan. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  38. ^ a b "Foreign Affairs Oral History Project: Harvey Feldman" (PDF). The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST). 1999-03-11. p. 61. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  39. ^ "Philippines" (PDF). The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST). 2001. p. 417. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  40. ^ Biography Eunice S. Reddick Ambassador, Republic of Gabon, Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, U.S. Department of State, 2007-11-27, archived from the original on 2019-04-23, retrieved 2019-04-23
  41. ^ "Donovan Jr., Joseph R". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  42. ^ "New AIT Political Section Chief". American Institute in Taiwan. 2003-07-01. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  43. ^ "Sections & Key Officers". American Institute in Taiwan. Archived from the original on 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
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