Taiwan’s representative to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim met Wednesday with the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s Taipei office, Sandra Oudkirk. The American Institute in Taiwan is the de facto US embassy in the absence of diplomatic ties.
Hsiao’s office shared on Twitter that Hsiao and Oudkirk talked about ways to advance Taiwan-US relations and that they look forward to future cooperation between the two sides.
The American Institute in Taiwan announced on Tuesday that Oudkirk will be replacing Brent Christensen as director of the institute’s Taipei branch in the summer. She will be the first female to take up the position since the institute’s establishment in 1979. Oudkirk has been a diplomat for 30 years. She is currently the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.