Kin Wah Moy (born 1966) is an American diplomat and holds the diplomatic rank of career minister.[4] He is the first Chinese-American to hold the post as director of the American Institute in Taiwan.[5] Having served in the Department of State and several diplomatic outposts, he was the director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan, from 2015 to 2018.
Kin W. Moy | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 梅健華 | |||||||||||
 Kin W. Moy in 2015 | |||||||||||
| Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research | |||||||||||
| In office January 20, 2021[1] – June 15, 2021[2] | |||||||||||
| President | Joe Biden | ||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ellen E. McCarthy | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Brett M. Holmgren | ||||||||||
| 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 57–58)[3] British Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Kathy Chen | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | Columbia University University of Minnesota | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Diplomat | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 梅健華 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 梅健华 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Early life
editMoy was born in 1966 in British Hong Kong.[3][6] His grandfather was from Taishan, Guangdong and lived in Chicago early in the twentieth century before returning to China.[7][8] Moy moved to New York shortly after his birth and grew up in Minnesota.[8]
Education
editMoy graduated from both Columbia University and the University of Minnesota.[9]
Career
editMoy began working for the U.S. State Department in 1992.[9] He served under six 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 of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,[9] 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.[10]
Moy was considered one of the executors of President Barack Obama's "Asian Pivot" strategy.[6] 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.[5] In his inaugural press conference, he stressed that the United States is Taiwan's closest ally.[6] Shortly before leaving the AIT in 2018, Moy was awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon.[11][12] He had served as the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR).[13]
On 21 April 2020, Moy was confirmed by the Senate to be career minister.[4] On 20 January 2021, he was appointed as the acting assistant secretary of INR,[1] a post he served until June 15, when he was appointed as the senior bureau official for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.[2]
On 5 June 2024, Moy was nominated to be the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam by President Joe Biden.[14]
Personal life
editHe graduated from Columbia University and the University of Minnesota and is a Mandarin and Cantonese speaker. Moy is married to Kathy Chen, a journalist who previously worked for the Wall Street Journal.[6] They have four children—Andrew, Claire, Olivia and Amanda[10]—and a Great Dane.[6]
Honors
edit- Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon (2018) Republic of China
- Grand Medal of Diplomacy (2018) Republic of China[15]
References
edit- ^ a b Kin Moy, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, archived from the original on 2021-03-19, retrieved 2021-06-17
- ^ a b Kin W. Moy, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, archived from the original on 2021-06-17
- ^ a b 劉光瑩 (2016-06-07). "梅健華 AIT變親民 美台關係下一步". CommonWealth Magazine (in Chinese (Taiwan)) (599). Archived from the original on 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b Lowther, William (8 May 2015), "Washington names Kin Moy as next AIT director", Taipei Times
- ^ a b c d e 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
- ^ "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...]
- ^ a b Biederman, Danny. "Moy, Kin". AllGov. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Kin Moy, U.S. Department of State, archived from the original on 2013-04-12
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ Hsu, Stacy (4 July 2018). "Tsai confers medal on AIT head". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ^ Shih, Hsiu-chuan (3 July 2018). "Departing AIT head honored by Taiwan". Central News Agency. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
- ^ Telephone Directory - Organizational Directory (PDF), U.S. Department of State, 2020-04-28, p. OD-41, archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-05-01
- ^ House, The White (2024-06-05). "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ^ "AIT Director Moy awarded MOFA's Grand Medal of Diplomacy". Taiwan Today. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
