Kin W. Moy

Kin Wah Moy (born 1966) is an American diplomat and holds the diplomatic rank of Minister.[2] He is the first Chinese-American to hold the post as Director of the American Institute in Taiwan.[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.

Kin W. Moy
Kin W. Moy in 2015
Director of American Institute in Taiwan
In office
14 June 2015 – 12 June 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byChristopher J. Marut
Succeeded byWilliam Brent Christensen
Personal details
Born1966 (age 53–54)[1]
British Hong Kong
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)Kathy Moy
Alma materColumbia University
University of Minnesota
OccupationDiplomat
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese梅健華
Simplified Chinese梅健华

Early life

Moy was born in 1966 in British Hong Kong.[1][4] His grandfather was from Taishan, Guangdong and lived in Chicago early in the 20th century before returning to China.[5][6] Moy moved to New York shortly after his birth and grew up in Minnesota.[6]

Education

Moy graduated from both Columbia University and the University of Minnesota.[7]

Career

Moy started working for the US State Department in 1992.[7] 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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[3] 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.[9][10] After leaving Taiwan, he serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR).[11] On 21 April 2020, he was confirmed by the Senate to be Career Minister.[2]

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.;[8] and a Great Dane.[4]

References
  1. 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. "PN1419 — Foreign Service, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. 2020-01-09. Archived from the original on 2020-04-26. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  3. Lowther, William, "Washington names Kin Moy as next AIT director", Taipei Times
  4. 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. "華府任命梅健華是為應對臺北政壇巨變？". 華澳人語 (in Chinese). May 12, 2015. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2020. ...他的祖父在廣東臺山出生... [...his grandfather was born in Taishan, Guangdong...]
  6. Biederman, Danny. "Moy, Kin". AllGov. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  7. Kin Moy, U.S. Department of State, archived from the original on 2013-04-12
  8. "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.
  9. Hsu, Stacy (4 July 2018). "Tsai confers medal on AIT head". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  10. Shih, Hsiu-chuan (3 July 2018). "Departing AIT head honored by Taiwan". Central News Agency. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  11. Telephone Directory (PDF), U.S. Department of State, 2020-04-28, p. OD-41, archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-05-01
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Christopher J. Marut		 Director of the American Institute in Taiwan
2015–2018		 Succeeded by
Brent Christensen
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