TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) will succeed Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) as Taiwan’s top envoy in the United States after she registered as a vice-presidential candidate, the Presidential Office said Wednesday (Nov. 29).

Yui was serving as representative to the European Union and Belgium, a post to which he was nominated in June. He will be succeeded by Vice Foreign Minister Roy Chun Lee (李淳).

The Presidential Office described Yui as having wide diplomatic experience in various regions, and as being able to step into the job and continue the important task of deepening close relations between Taiwan and Washington.

The diplomat served in Paraguay, Geneva, El Salvador, and New York. He was also in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) department for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) selected Hsiao as his running mate for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the 2024 presidential election. The duo have been topping most opinion polls with less than two months left.