WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Saturday that the State Department is lifting long-standing restrictions on the way U.S. diplomats and others contact their counterparts in Taiwan, another measure that is expected to upset China when the Trump administration ends.
The Trump administration has tried to strengthen bilateral relations with Taiwan. He announced Thursday that UN Ambassador Kelly Craft would go to Taiwan, an action that sparked strong criticism from Beijing and a warning that the U.S. would pay a heavy price. In August, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar became the first cabinet member to visit Taiwan since 2014.
Pompeo said the State Department has created complex restrictions when it comes to contacts between the two parties. He said such actions were taken to appease the communist regime in Beijing.
“No more,” Pompeo said in a statement. “Today I announce that I will lift all these self-imposed restrictions.”
The Chinese government argues that mainland China and Taiwan are part of a “single China.” China has intensified its threats to subject the self-governing island to its control by military force with war games and frequent air patrols. He has used his diplomatic influence to prevent Taiwan from joining any organization that requires state status to become a member.
Pompeo said the U.S. maintains relations with unofficial partners around the world and Taiwan is no exception.
“Our two democracies share common values of individual freedom, the rule of law and respect for human dignity,” Pompeo said. “Today’s statement recognizes that the relationship between the United States and Taiwan should not be and should not be bound by self-imposed restrictions on our permanent bureaucracy.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu welcomed the decision.
“I am grateful to @SecPompeo and @StateDept for lifting the restrictions that have unnecessarily limited our commitments in recent years,” Wu said in a retweet from a Pompeo tweet about the announcement.
“The closest collaboration between #Taiwan and the #US is firmly based on our shared values, our common interests and our unwavering conviction in freedom and democracy,” he wrote, making a distinction with the authoritarian state of ‘a party from China.