Press reports both here and in Taiwan indicate that Doug Paal, former NSC official in Bush I and Asian policy wonk, might be tapped to be the next head of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan.
This ought to please Beijing, Paal, one of the architects of the post-Tiananmen Square "let's put this behind us" policy, has consistently counseled giving Taiwan only the most minimal defense assistance, lest we offend Chinese nationalist sensibilities. But, then, maybe it would be good for Paal to be head of AIT. Nothing like sitting in Taipei, facing several hundred Chinese ballistic missiles aimed your way, to straighten out one's views of what's really provocative and what's not.