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US official Fernandez visits Taiwan, regrets losing Lin to HoustonCNA TAIPEI--Visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jose W. Fernandez said yesterday he regrets that Jeremy Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Taiwanese descent, will depart New York and head to Houston in the coming NBA season.
August 7, 2012, 12:27 am TWN During a meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou at the Presidential Office, Fernandez mentioned Lin's sensational rise from the New York Knicks bench to global stardom in the 2011-12 season. Fernandez, who is in charge of economic and business affairs at the U.S. State Department, said he knows Lin is currently on a visit in Taipei. As a New Yorker, Fernandez said, it is regrettable to see Lin depart the Big Apple. Praising Lin as an outstanding hoopster, Fernandez said he hopes the 23-year-old Harvard economics graduate will play for New York again in the future. Lin will play with the Houston Rockets in the 2012-13 NBA season after the Knicks decided last month not to match the Rockets' three-year, US$25.1 million offer to him. Fernandez, the highest ranking State Department official to visit Taiwan in many years, is on an Asian trip that will also take him to Japan and Vietnam. His visit is seen by some local political analysts as a U.S. gesture to deliver on its promise to send high-level officials to visit Taiwan to strengthen bilateral partnerships. Fernandez said he will definitely take time out of his busy schedule to tour the National Palace Museum in suburban Taipei to see its valuable collection of ancient Chinese art treasures. A graduate of Columbia Law School, Fernandez assumed his current post in December 2009. Before his State Department assignment, he had been a partner at a noted law firm and focused on advising clients on international mergers and acquisitions, financing, trade and other matters in Latin America, Europe and Africa. He has been named one of the “World's Leading Lawyers” by Chambers Global for his M&A and corporate expertise.
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