Taipei, July 1 (CNA) As he prepares to leave Taiwan in July after serving for more than three years as de facto United States ambassador, Kin Moy (梅健華) told CNA that he and his family will always remember the kindness and thoughtfulness of local people.
Speaking to CNA on Friday, the director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), said he has been moved by the reaction of people here to what AIT is doing to enhance U.S.-Taiwan ties.
AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic relations.
Since he took office in June, 2015, Moy said he and his family have traveling extensively in Taiwan with exception of the islands of Penghu and Kinmen.
Moy has been accompanied by his wife Kathy Chen and their four children during his time in Taipei. He is the first Chinese-American AIT chief while his wife worked as a reporter and editor at the local English-language newspaper The China Post in the 1980s. Their familiarity with Taiwan has played an important role in helping them become more involved in the local cultural scene.
Wherever he has visited, Moy said he is always moved when people approach him to say thank you for what he is doing.
"That deeply touches all of us at AIT when we hear words to that effect, because that is essentially what we were trying do at AIT," Moy said, adding that sharing information about the U.S. they might be unaware of with Taiwanese people is a large part of AIT's work.
During his travels outside Taipei, Moy has also learned much about local customs and people's lives.
"Just to be a part of their lives means a great deal to us, so I think that will be the lasting memory when we go back, that kind of closeness to people that only came about the further we traveled from Taipei," he noted.
Since assuming office, Moy has also actively made use of online social media including AIT's Facebook page by frequently posting updates on his travels around Taiwan with a humorous touch, boosting AIT's visibility locally. In three years, the number of followers of AIT's Facebook page grew from about 30,000 to more than 97,000.
An encounter Moy had when hiking in a remote mountainous part of Taiwan offers anecdotal evidence of the enhanced profile of AIT and its director.
In his jovial manner, now famous in Taipei's diplomatic circles, Moy mimicked the way a local woman walking on the same mountain trail pointed her finger at him and tried to remember his name, without success. In the end, they had a good laugh and took a photo together while sharing a moment, he said.
"At that point I knew our social media was working pretty well," he said, adding that such memories will stay with him for a very long time.
This closeness with Taiwanese people has also been replicated with senior government officials Moy has worked with, including top leaders such as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Moy has worked in the U.S. Foreign Service for over 20 years, including as a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for China, Mongolia and Taiwan. He has also had postings in Beijing and in South Korea.
With extensive experience in diplomacy, Moy said Taiwanese people are extremely professional and easy to work with as their approach is full of "thoughtfulness and kindness."
The AIT chief said he could not think of any other posting where he received such access to the president's office.
"President Tsai made it clear that she and her administration want a very collaborative and cooperative relationship, it is not so easy to do that, I can't imagine that if I worked in Japan I would have that many opportunities to meet with Prime Minister Abe or when I am in Seoul, I don't think I will be knocking President Moon's door very often," he said.
The reason Tsai offers such access is because the two sides have cordial relations, have cooperated for decades and the relationship is supported by Taiwanese people.
Moy's position will be filled later this summer by Brent Christensen, a former AIT deputy director and a diplomat with experience in senior positions related to Taiwan and China.
(By Joseph Yeh)
Enditem/AW