TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US State Department on Monday rejected a claim by KMT Vice Chair Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) that American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene holds a low-level post, saying he serves as the secretary of state’s representative in Taiwan and fully represents the US government’s position.

After Greene voiced support for President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.61 billion) special defense budget, Hsiao said in a Friday radio interview that within the State Department hierarchy Greene’s rank is “only slightly above a section chief," per CNA. He added that “Taiwan is being told what to do by an official whose rank is lower than a department director.”

In response, a State Department spokesperson told CNA on Friday evening that under the Taiwan Relations Act, the AIT director is the secretary of state’s representative in Taiwan, with a rank equivalent to a chief of mission. Greene fully represents the US government’s position, including on issues related to Taiwan’s security.

Hsiao’s “section chief” remark sparked debate. KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said the comment stemmed from concerns over whether information from the lower levels can be accurately conveyed to higher levels, while emphasizing the importance of every opportunity to communicate with the US.

KMT Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said Taiwan–US relations are never a trivial matter, especially given the US–China–Taiwan triangle, which affects Taiwan’s security, cross-strait peace, and regional prosperity and stability. Therefore, she said it deserves greater attention, and efforts should be made to garner international support.

DPP Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the wording was extremely impolite. He added that derogatory terms should not be used in attempting to promote diplomacy.

According to the AIT website, Greene, a senior career diplomat at the US State Department, arrived in Taiwan to assume his post in July 2024, marking his third assignment to Taiwan. Before taking the position, he served as deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Tokyo.

During his overseas assignments, Greene has served as consul general in Chengdu, China, and Okinawa, Japan. Earlier in his career, he was head of the Political-Military Affairs Unit at the US Embassy in Tokyo, deputy director of AIT’s Political Section, and deputy director of AIT, as well as a political officer at the US embassies in Japan and the Philippines.

Greene speaks Mandarin and Japanese and was the first Baker-Kato Diplomatic Exchange Fellow at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo. He has also served as a State Department adviser and professor at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.