Alex Azar’s Secretary of Health and Human Services’ trip to Taiwan is angry at Beijing. I’m good.
Azar will be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island since 1979 and the first U.S. Cabinet official to step down in six years. China considers Taiwan a part of itself, has tried to isolate it and hopes to regain control there, perhaps by force.
By sending Azar, President Trump is delivering a clear message of opposition to China’s increasingly unresponsive behavior.
While the world has been fighting COVID-19, Beijing has been working to suppress dissent. It exercised control over Hong Kong and virtually ended democracy, prompting Trump to impose sanctions on Hong Kong’s Chiefrie Carrie Lam and 10 other senior officials in Hong Kong and mainland China on Friday.
Beijing has also brutalized Uighurs, fighting with India, trying to dominate the South China Sea and hobbing the world’s COVID response, including abuse.
It sought to exclude Taipei from meetings of the World Health Organization, even though Taiwan has had one of the best global responses to the virus.
The visit of Azar, the Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told The Post, is appreciated. “We hope we can exchange ideas” and “demonstrate best practices when dealing with COVID-19.”
“Taiwan has been a model of transparency and cooperation in global health during and long before the COVID-19 pandemic,” Azar said. The United States and Taiwan both believe “free and democratic societies are the best model for protecting and promoting health.”
Previous administrations have left China, literally, with murder. Good for Trump for pushing back.
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