Ex-ambassador designated as representative to Japan

Feng, who received his elementary and middle school education in Japan, will be Taiwan’s new representative in Tokyo, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Noting that Feng is one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s most trusted international affairs advisers, the official said his new appointment betrays the level of importance the government places on relations with Japan.

The Japanese government has already agreed to the appointment and the MOFA will formally announce Feng’s assignation after completing administrative formalities, the official said.

Feng, the son of a career diplomat, lived in Japan with his family during his formative years. He traveled to the United States to continue his studies after completing his secondary education in Japan. He has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.

Feng’s diplomatic career started with a position as a secretary at Taiwan’s representative office in Washington, D.C. After returning to Taipei, he served as news department chief at the previously Kuomintang-owned Broadcasting Corp. of China and as editor-in-chief of the CNA. He later served as director of the MOFA’s Protocol Department.

Feng was named the country’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean after the Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2000 and he retired from diplomatic service last year to help with Ma’s presidential campaign.

Feng will fill the post left vacant by Koh Se-kai, a Taiwan-centric advocate who resigned in June over differences of opinion with the Foreign Ministry on the handling of a diplomatic row between Taipei and Tokyo following a boat collision in waters near the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands, which are claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan.

The row subsided through high-level communications, with Japanese officials apologizing for the incident, in which a Taiwanese recreational fishing boat sank after colliding with a Japanese coast guard vessel, and promising to compensate the Taiwanese boat owner.

The Taiwan-Japan relations were close during Koh’s tenure, with Japan agreeing to offer visa-free entry for Taiwanese tourists and recognizing Taiwan’s driver’s licenses.

Although Ma campaigned on a platform of rapprochement with China, He has assured visiting Japanese politicians over the past few months that cross-Taiwan Strait detente will not affect Taiwan’s efforts to maintain good relations with Japan.

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