New deputy U.S. representative to Taiwan takes office

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) Karin M. Lang officially took up her post as the new deputy United States representative to Taiwan last week, the de facto U.S. embassy in the country announced on Tuesday.

A career member of the senior foreign service with the rank of minister-counselor, Lang assumed the deputy director post at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei starting Aug. 8, the AIT said in a press release.

A senior diplomat with over 30 years of foreign service experience, Lang most recently served as coordinator for Cuban affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (2022-2024) and previously as minister-counselor for consular affairs and consul general at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan (2019-2022), the AIT said.

Her domestic assignments include director of the Office of Policy Coordination and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Consular Affairs (2017-2019) and director of the executive secretariat staff in the Office of the Secretary of State (2015-2017).

Lang, who speaks Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, has also served in economic and consular assignments in overseas posts, including Havana, Bangkok, Taipei, Guangzhou, and Mexico City, it added.

In 2015, she was honored with the State Department's Mary A. Ryan Award for Outstanding Public Service in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of dual-national children in Mexico.

In AIT's press release, Lang was quoted as expressing enthusiasm for returning to Taiwan.

"Having served here in Taiwan earlier in my career, I've seen firsthand the strength of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship and of Taiwan's vibrant democracy. I look forward to continuing our close strategic and economic collaboration, particularly in the cutting-edge technologies where Taiwan is a global leader," Lang said.

Lang filled the vacancy left by her predecessor Jeremy Cornforth, who served as deputy AIT director from July 2021 to early 2025. The AIT, which manages U.S. relations with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, was formed in 1979 after Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

AIT is headquartered in Virginia, but has a main office in Taipei and a branch office in Kaohsiung. Its director in Taipei serves as the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan.