The US and Taiwan: Where are we today and where might we be headed?

featuring
Amb. James Moriarty
Chairman, American Institute in Taiwan

This program will not be recorded and remarks by Amb. Moriarty are considered off-the-record.

Growing tension across the Taiwan Strait has increasingly focused attention on US policy toward Taiwan.  Jim Moriarty, Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, will discuss recent trends in US-Taiwan relations and where those trends might be leading us. 

James F. Moriarty on October 1, 2016 became Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the non-profit corporation established by Congress to manage the unofficial relationship between the United States and Taiwan.   

Ambassador (ret.) Moriarty brings to the position decades of experience in Asia, including Taiwan at senior leadership levels in the US government and the private sector. In his US government career, Ambassador Moriarty served as US ambassador to Bangladesh (2008-2011) and Nepal (2004-2007) and as Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for Asia at the National Security Council (2002-2004), and previously as Director for China Affairs at the National Security Council (2001-2002). He led the political sections at the US Embassy in Beijing (1998-2001) and at the American Institute in Taiwan (1995-1998). Earlier assignments in Ambassador Moriarty’s 36-year State Department career include postings in Taipei and Beijing, as well as work in Washington, D.C., South Asia, and Africa.  

Since retiring from the Foreign Service in 2011, Ambassador Moriarty has worked in the private sector and as an independent consultant. Living in Jakarta in 2013-2014, Ambassador Moriarty set up PROGRESS, a US Government project to build capacity in ASEAN’s political/security and social/cultural communities. From 2016 to 2019, Ambassador Moriarty served as the Country Director for the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a coalition of North American importers of ready-made garments working to improve factory safety there.  

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.