Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

On the morning of October 15, President Ma Ying-jeou presided over a ceremony in which former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell was bestowed with the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of relations between the ROC and the United States. Among those on hand to witness the ceremony were Nirav S. Patel, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Strategy and Multilateral Affairs, Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Jacob Chang (張大同), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定).

Upon accepting the decoration, former Assistant Secretary of State Campbell stated that he was deeply honored to receive the order from President Ma, and expressed his deepest appreciation. Mr. Campbell commented that his goal throughout his career has been to promote enhanced political and economic relations between the United States and countries in Asia. He said he was delighted to see the vibrant development of unofficial ties between Taiwan and the United States, adding that thanks to the efforts of all parties, advances in relations between the two sides over the past several years has been unprecedented.

Mr. Campbell further stated that relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are developing in a stable and positive manner. Furthermore, the United States and mainland China are enjoying stable relations, while ties between Taiwan and the United States are also quite good, so it is clear, he said, big progress has been made in the three-way relationship.