New Taiwan envoy to America sees potential risks and rewards in China-US rivalry over economy and tech

Hsiao Bi-khim’s international upbringing and early political awareness have led to her being Taipei’s first female de facto ambassador to US

Casting herself as an agile, flexible ‘cat warrior’, she says she will counter Beijing’s Wolf Warrior diplomacy and push for stronger ties with the US

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Hsiao Bi-khim was born in Japan, raised in Taiwan and educated in the US before returning to Taiwan. Photo: CNA

Published: 6:00pm, 19 Jul 2020Updated: 10:47pm, 19 Jul 2020

In a heated session of Taiwan’s legislature the self-governed island’s new envoy to the United States was grilled by an opposition legislator.

“I want you to answer in English because I want to understand how you respond to the challenges and the questions that US friends and government officials raise to you,” the legislator said. “How [do] you envision Taiwan’s role in the US policy of rebalancing and pivoting towards Asia?”

The envoy, King Pu-tsung, replied: “If you are in the United States, I will definitely answer you in English, but right now we are in the congress of the Republic of China, so we should speak Mandarin,” referring to Taiwan’s official name.

“How do you respond to the question about concerns that greater cross-strait integration … has led to leakage of military technology, intelligence and other secrets from Taiwan to [mainland] China?” the legislator pressed on, in English.

That exchange was in late 2012 and the legislator was Hsiao Bi-khim from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Hsiao Bi-khim was appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen to head the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington. Photo: CNA

Now it is Hsiao who will be the envoy to represent Taiwan in America. She was appointed last month by President Tsai Ing-wen as Taiwan’s next representative to the US. As head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington she will be the first woman to hold the post as the island’s de facto ambassador to Washington.

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