Taiwan's government has approved a new slate of diplomatic appointments that will place experienced officials in key overseas posts, including representatives to Fiji and Peru, and will establish the island's first official representative in Phoenix, Arizona. The personnel moves were confirmed in government approvals issued earlier this month and mark a continuation of Taipei's efforts to deepen ties with partners in the Pacific, Latin America and the United States through expanded representation.
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David Wu, who is currently serving as Taiwan's representative in Sydney, Australia, has been selected to take over as the island's representative to Fiji. The Executive Yuan approved Wu's appointment as part of the recent round of personnel changes. Wu will be the successor to Joseph Chow, who is the incumbent representative to Fiji; the government has not disclosed any subsequent postings or assignments for Chow. The transfer from Sydney to Suva places a seasoned diplomat in a Pacific post that Taiwan has long maintained as part of its network of formal and informal relationships in the region.
A Taiwanese envoy speaks into a microphone at a public event; Taipei has approved him as the new representative to Fiji, the article reports.
Also named in the approvals was Lu Chao-jui, who has been serving as deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs. Lu has been appointed as Taiwan's new representative to Peru, where he will succeed Francisca Chang, the current Taipei representative in Lima. The Executive Yuan's announcement did not include details about where Chang will be reassigned, and no follow-up postings for her have been made public at this time. Lu's appointment shifts a specialist on Latin American and Caribbean affairs into one of the ministry's most longstanding relationships in the region.
The government also approved Kevin Chiao as Taiwan's first representative to Phoenix. Chiao most recently served as deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs, the body that functions as Taiwan's counterpart to the American Institute in Taiwan. He has also worked as a senior aide to the minister of foreign affairs. The decision to station a representative in Phoenix follows a separate announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it will establish a representative office in that city to broaden and deepen exchanges between Taiwan and the United States.
Officials have pointed to Phoenix's growing role as a technology hub as a key reason for opening the new office. Taiwanese investment in the region — led by major semiconductor companies — has expanded Phoenix's economic links with Taiwan, drawing suppliers and related firms to the area. The ministry said that the arrival and expansion of Taiwanese semiconductor investment in Phoenix, notably driven by major local operations, have encouraged more Taiwanese companies to establish a presence there, creating a rationale for a dedicated Taipei office to handle economic, consular and people-to-people ties.
The Executive Yuan's approvals formalize the personnel changes but did not set publicly available timelines for when the new appointees will assume their posts, nor did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provide a start date for the Phoenix office. In announcing the appointments, the government indicated that the moves are part of ongoing efforts to bolster Taiwan's representation overseas and to respond to shifting economic and diplomatic priorities, particularly where industry and regional engagement have evolved.
Wu and Lu will replace Joseph Chow and Francisca Chang in Fiji and Peru, respectively, while Kevin Chiao's posting in Phoenix will inaugurate a new chapter in Taiwan's network of overseas representative offices. Beyond the names and immediate successor relationships, the government has released no further specifics about subsequent assignments for the outgoing representatives or about the operational timeline for the new Phoenix office. The approvals mark the latest round of diplomatic personnel decisions as Taipei adjusts its overseas footprint to align with economic developments and the distribution of Taiwanese business interests abroad.
The establishment of the Phoenix office drew a warm welcome from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which noted its potential to bolster economic and people-to-people ties in the American Sun Belt. Taiwan’s MOFA called it a new chapter in Taiwan-U.S. relations centered on trade, semiconductor cooperation, and community support.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a press release on July 3, 2026 announcing the new office’s official name as the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Phoenix" and saying preparatory work is underway; the release said the Phoenix office will provide consular and business support for Arizona and neighboring New Mexico.
The ministry’s announcement noted that with Phoenix added, Taiwan’s network of U.S. offices will expand to 14 locations, listing the existing posts in Washington (TECRO), New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, Honolulu, Denver, Miami, and Guam.
Local reporting in Taiwan noted that Kevin Chiao is a career diplomat who has long worked in the minister’s office and the Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs; the reporting also says his twin brother, Chiao Guo-you (焦國祐), serves as a deputy director in the ministry’s North America division, underscoring Chiao’s deep ties within MOFA’s U.S. policy team.