Taiwan welcomes appointment of new Head of American Institute

TAIPEI - Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the appointment of William Christensen as the new Director of The United States de-facto ‘Embassy’ in Taiwan, the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The Institute reopened earlier this month following a US$250 million refurbishment.

Describing Christensen as a senior diplomat with considerable experience of Taiwan-U.S. relations, MOFA said he had advanced numerous policies strengthening ties over his near three-decade career.
 These included Taiwan’s inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme since 2012, and establishment in 2015 of the Taiwan-U.S. Global Cooperation and Training Framework, which MOFA described as a platform for expanding collaboration on major regional and international issues.
 Christensen holds the rank of Minister-Counsellor in the U.S. Senior Foreign Service. He served as Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Taiwan Co-ordination from 2010-2012 and AIT Deputy Director from 2012-2015.  www.mofa.gov.tw (ATI).