Kin W. Moy

Kin W. Moy
梅健華
Kin W. Moy in 2015
Director of American Institute in Taiwan
In office
14 June 2015 – 12 June 2018
President

Barack Obama

Donald Trump
Preceded by Christopher J. Marut
Succeeded by William Brent Christensen
Personal details
Born 1966 (age 51–52)[1]
British Hong Kong
Nationality American
Spouse(s) Kathy Moy
Alma mater Columbia University
University of Minnesota
Occupation Diplomat

Kin W. Moy (Chinese: 梅健華; pinyin: Méi Jiànhuá; Jyutping: Mui4 Gin6-waa4, born 1966,[1] in British Hong Kong) is an American diplomat and former Director of the American Institute in Taiwan. He is the first Chinese-American to hold the post.[2] He is a third-generation Chinese American with ancestry from Taishan in Guangdong Province.[3] Having served in the Department of State and several diplomatic outposts, he began his tenure as the director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan, in June 2015.

Early life

Moy was born in Hong Kong[4] to parents from Taishan, Guangdong. He graduated from both Columbia University and the University of Minnesota.[5]

Career

Moy started working for the US State Department in 1992.[5] He served under three US Secretaries of State, working as Special Assistant in the Executive Secretariat for Madeleine Albright, Director of the Executive Secretariat Staff for Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy Executive Secretary for Hillary Clinton. He was Deputy Director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia and Desk Officer in the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs.

In 2011 he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.[5]

He was at the Department of State in Washington, where he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for China, Mongolia, and Taiwan. In addition to his Washington assignments, Moy has served in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, and the U.S. Consulate in Busan.[6]

Moy was considered a key proponent of US President Barack Obama's "Asian Pivot" strategy.[4] In 2015 he was appointed Director of the American Institute in Taiwan and so became the de facto American ambassador to Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.[2] In his inaugural press conference he stressed that the United States is Taiwan's closest ally.[4] Shortly before leaving the AIT in 2018, Moy was awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon.[7][8]

Personal life

He graduated from Columbia University and the University of Minnesota and is a Mandarin speaker. Moy is married to Kathy Chen, a journalist who previously worked for the Wall Street Journal.[4] Taiwanese media note that she lived in Taiwan for a few years in the late 1980s, first as a student then subsequently as an editor for The China Post, so will be somewhat familiar with the country.[4] They have four children: (from eldest to youngest) Andrew, Claire, Olivia and Amanda.;[6] and a Great Dane.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 劉光瑩 (2016-06-07). "梅健華 AIT變親民 美台關係下一步". CommonWealth Magazine (in Chinese) (599). Archived from the original on 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  2. 1 2 Lowther, William, "Washington names Kin Moy as next AIT director", Taipei Times
  3. ↑ Chinese background (In Chinese)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 新任AIT處長梅健華：美國是台灣最好的朋友 (New AIT Director Kin Moy: America is Taiwan's Best Friend (in Chinese), Commonwealth Magazine
  5. 1 2 3 Kin Moy, U.S. Department of State
  6. 1 2 "Mr. Kin W. Moy" (PDF). American Institute in Taiwan. 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ↑ Hsu, Stacy (4 July 2018). "Tsai confers medal on AIT head". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  8. ↑ Shih, Hsiu-chuan (3 July 2018). "Departing AIT head honored by Taiwan". Central News Agency. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
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