President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Wednesday awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon to former DPP U.S. office director Michael J. Fonte (彭光理), honoring his decades-long contributions to Taiwan-U.S. relations. 

Lai said Fonte first came to Taiwan as a missionary during the martial law era, promoting human rights, and later returned to the United States to lobby Congress through the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA). He described Fonte as a lifelong friend who has worked “shoulder to shoulder” with the Taiwanese people for half a century and thanked him for his dedication to Taiwanese democracy. 

Speaking in Taiwanese, Lai noted that Fonte, a New York native who often said that Taiwan “stole his heart,” was sent to rural Taiwan in 1967 after seminary training. He served farmers across Taichung, Changhua, and Miaoli.

Lai stated, “In order to gain the unwavering support of the U.S. government and face various challenges when Taiwan’s international standing was still precarious, Michael stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Taiwan, fighting for democracy and the support of the international community. I believe everyone here, especially Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Chairman Mark Chen (陳唐山), and other senior figures, deeply appreciates the hardships he endured.”

Fonte recalled arriving in Taiwan under martial law, saying that if someone had told him the island would become a thriving democracy within 20 years, he would have been incredulous. He concluded by declaring in Taiwanese, “Long live Taiwan’s democracy!”