The United States government has appointed U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Kin Moy as the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a non-profit private corporation established under the control of the United States government, making him the first Chinese-descent director of the institution since its was created in 1979.
Moy, who has served the U.S. Foreign Service for over 20 years, is set to replace Christopher Marut on the upcoming presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan in January of 2016.
The new director has previously worked on the United States' diplomatic relationship with Asian countries like Mongolia, Taiwan and China.
He was also tasked to be deputy executive secretary to former U.S. secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice; the deputy director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia; desk officer to the U.S. Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs; and special assistant of the executive secretariat in the office of former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
Aside from working in the U.S., Moy was also assigned as a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and given the position of Minister Counselor in the nation's embassies in Beijing and Seoul, as well as in the U.S. consulate in Busan, South Korea.
As Taiwan aspires to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2016, Moy is expected to help enhance Taiwan's relationship among TPP partner countries.
TPP proposed a regional regulatory and investment treaty throughout the Asia-Pacific region, which consists of 12 countries including the U.S.
“Maintaining and deepening our strong unofficial relations with Taiwan is an important part of U.S. engagement in Asia,” Moy said during the U.S.-Taiwan affairs at the Carnegie Endowment.
Moy added that the two nation's "broad ranging, unofficial relationship " is one of Washington's concerns.
The Taiwanese government gladly welcomes Moy's designation.
“We believe that Moy will help expand and advance the Taiwan-U.S. partnership, based on the strong foundations laid by his predecessor, Christopher Marut,” said Anna Kao, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson.
Kin Moy is fluent in speaking Mandarin and has graduated in the University of Minnesota and Columbia University, two of the world's most prestigious tertiary institutions.