J. Stapleton Roy

Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy is the founding director emeritus and a distinguished scholar at the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. From watching the Chinese civil war from the roof of his school, to participating in the secret negotiations to establish US-China diplomatic relations, to serving as assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, Roy has lived through, navigated, and studied the development of China and modern Asia for more than 70 years. Holding the rank of Career Ambassador, he has served as the top US envoy to Singapore, China, and Indonesia. A fluent Mandarin-speaker, Roy is widely quoted on political developments in China and East Asia.

OpinionUS should not encourage Taiwan to court destruction

US Representative Mark Takano chats with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office in Taipei on November 26. Five US lawmakers met with Tsai in a surprise one-day visit intended to reaffirm the United States’ “rock solid” support for the self-governing island. Photo: Taiwan Presidential Office via AP

The vibrant democracy in Taiwan is a global success story, but thumbing its nose at China and hoping the US will deal with the consequences is not the way to go. However, the US Congress lacks the courage to tell Taiwan to avoid pushing red lines, even when this is of critical importance to preserving democracy on the island.

10 Dec 2021 - 2:44AMvideocam