US diplomat says Taiwan was ‘best assignment ever’

REACHING OUT: The AIT wants to expand Taiwan’s international space, Joseph Bookbinder said, adding that the nation has many friends in the US Congress

Staff Writer, with CNA





A US diplomat whose term in Taiwan ended last week said the nation was his favorite assignment.

“I’ve been a diplomat for 25 years and Taiwan is my favorite assignment,” said Joseph Bookbinder, who concluded his term as public diplomacy section chief at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and returned to Washington last week.

Both he and his family felt that Taiwan was the best posting he has ever had, which is why he extended his three-year term for one more year, Bookbinder said.

His family loved Taiwan so much that they did not want to leave, he said, adding that his children enjoyed attending the Taipei American School.

His wife, who is a keen mountaineer, joined hiking clubs with her friends and climbed several peaks, said Bookbinder, whose previous overseas assignments include China, Hong Kong and India.

One thing that makes Taiwan different from the other places he has served in is people’s friendliness, Bookbinder said.

Bookbinder said he also thought that three years were not enough to reach the goals he wanted achieve at the AIT.

His main task was to connect the AIT with Taiwanese, Bookbinder said, adding that his efforts involved social media engagement and organizing concerts and other events.

He also boosted cultural and educational exchanges, for example by bringing Americans to Taiwan to work with Taiwanese teachers to teach English to local children, he said.

The AIT has worked with several government agencies to promote educational exchanges, which have expanded to include a growing number of Taiwanese students studying in the US and US students studying in Taiwan, he added.

He also helped establish the American Innovation Center and assisted in the organization of two hackathons in Taipei, Bookbinder said.

Bookbinder said the center, which opened in Taipei in January 2014, was part of the AIT’s efforts to engage with younger Taiwanese.

The center offers free classes and cooperates with local partners to help improve the skills of younger Taiwanese and familiarize them with US technologies and products, he said.

The classes cover areas such as 3D printers and robots, he added.

“We want to expand Taiwan’s international space,” he said, referring to Taiwan’s participation in US-organized hackathons, in which Taiwanese teams participated.

In June last year, a Taiwanese team from Akubic Corp won the third annual Fishackathon, organized by the US Department of State.

The team sought to control an invasive species by using online real-time temperature and flow data to predict spawning times of Asian carp in North America’s Great Lakes region.

Last month, three Taiwanese teams participated in the final round of NASA’s international Space Apps Challenge, the AIT said.

Taiwan’s Space Bar team won first place in the “Best Mission Concept” category, one of the five main categories in the final stage of the competition, it said.

The team’s app allows users to obtain and understand landslide data by using data from NASA, and to contribute their own observations to be used by search-and-rescue teams, the AIT said.

Bookbinder said the AIT is working to ensure Taiwan’s continued participation in next year’s hackathons.

He said Taiwan has many friends in the US, including in the executive branch and the US Congress.

Bookbinder said he believes “strong, unofficial relations” will continue.