The Foreign Service Journal, December 2021

30 DECEMBER 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Mark Palmer Award for the Advancement of Democracy Erika Kuenne China Watcher Builds Support in Europe for Democratic Taiwan E rika Kuenne led Depart- ment of State efforts to support Taiwan, a democ- racy under daily pressure fromChina, and to counter Chinese efforts to undermine democratic values by systematically violating the human rights of the Uyghur ethnic group. While serving in Prague as the first regional China officer (RCO) for Europe from 2019 to present, Ms. Kuenne encoun- tered bureaucratic obstacles to U.S. diplo- matic efforts to create international space for Taiwan. Having studied in Taipei as a Fulbright scholar, Ms. Kuenne says, she was thrilled to undertake initiatives in support of this model democracy. Until last year, State Department guidelines for interacting with Taiwanese offi- cials hampered U.S. engagement. Recognizing the confusion this created, Ms. Kuenne worked with colleagues to develop a script for briefing China watchers throughout Europe on best practices for strengthening interaction with Taiwan. Kuenne worked with Czech planners and Arati Shroff at the American Institute in Taiwan to facilitate an 89-person Czech delegation to Taiwan in August 2020, which included the highest- level Czech politician ever to visit the country. To counter China’s threatened retaliation, Ms. Kuenne successfully advocated for then–Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to deliver a speech to the Czech parliament emphasizing U.S. appreciation for the Czech Senate’s upcoming trip to Taiwan, sending a signal globally that the United States stands by its partners. The Czech Senate sub- sequently voted unanimously in favor of Taiwan’s admission as a member to the World Health Organization. Building on the Secretary’s visit, Ms. Kuenne created a model of subregional engagement on Taiwan with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. This multilateral format was so successful that the State Department is replicating the approach to share Taiwan’s experience as a vibrant democracy defend- ing against authoritarian influence in all regions of the world. Ms. Kuenne also met with embassy colleagues across Europe to dispel misconceptions about working with Taiwan, which led to additional engagements across the continent. In a meeting with EUR Deputy Assistant Secretary Molly Montgomery in April 2021, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office Representative Liang-yu Wang singled out Ms. Kuenne, express- ing not just personal admiration but all of Taiwan’s appreciation “for all Erika has done.” The represen- tative acknowledged that she laid groundwork for Taiwan to work systematically with the United States “to expand relations with European democracies.” Taiwan has already seen a noticeable uptick in its involvement in the Baltic region, especially in Lithu- ania, which plans to open a representative office in Taipei by the end of 2021. This decision came about in no small part due to Ms. Kuenne’s relationships with officials in that country and her tenacious advocacy to expand Taiwan’s unofficial ties. Kuenne also worked tirelessly to urge concrete action oppos- ing China’s human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, arguably the most pernicious in the suite of malign activities by which Beijing undermines democratic norms including the rule of law, due process and fundamental fairness. To raise aware- ness of these abuses, Ms. Kuenne devised Twitter messaging on Xinjiang for the White House and the Secretary of State in the Uyghur language, and secured global publicity for groundbreak- ing reports outlining China’s human rights abuses. She collaborated with Germany’s largest newspapers to publi- cize satellite imagery showing prison labor conditions in Uyghur reeducation camps and coordinated a traveling photo exhibition that exposed hundreds of thousands to Beijing’s repressive human rights record. Beyond Europe, Ms. Kuenne provided indispensable – EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE – Erika Kuenne.