17 October 2022

Southeast Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence, in collaboration with The Asia Forum, invites you to an in-person discussion on “The Taiwan Straits” in Wellington.

Ford Hart will discuss the situation in the Taiwan Strait and its importance for New Zealand. Ford is a former US diplomat now residing in Wellington who worked repeatedly on Taiwan issues over a long career, including at the White House as Director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council staff and during assignments at the State Department, the Pentagon, and the US Embassy in Beijing. Ford will share his personal opinions on prospects for stability in the Strait and New Zealand’s stakes in peace there.

Keynote speaker

Ford Hart is a former American diplomat whose involvement in U.S.-China relations stretched from the early days of reform and opening to the Xi Jinping era. He capped off a distinguished 33-year career with assignment as U.S. Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau, an ambassadorial-level position. In addition to three postings to Mainland China, Ford also served overseas in the USSR, Iraq, and Taiwan. Before Hong Kong, he was the Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks on North Korean nuclear weapons, for which President Obama accorded him the personal rank of ambassador. Ford served at the White House as the National Security Council’s China and Taiwan Director, and at the Pentagon he was foreign policy advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations. In other assignments in Washington, Ford worked on U.S.-China relations, Taiwan policy, Kazakhstan, crisis management, and post-conflict stabilization.

Ford advises Fluidity Operations LLC, a blockchain technology holding firm, on government relations, regulation, and Asian affairs. He is also Senior Advisor to Bower Group Asia, a government relations consultancy. Ford is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a recipient of the State Department’s highest commendation for diplomatic reporting, and he holds a master’s degree from the University of Virginia.