The United States lifts self-imposed restrictions on contacts with Taiwan; China’s official media react harshly

WASHINGTON / BEIJING: The United States has lifted “self-imposed restrictions” on contacts between diplomats and US and Taiwanese officials, Secretary of State Mike pompeo has announced, ending a longstanding policy to “appease” China.
America moves on Taiwan enraged China with the communist nation’s official media on Sunday by harshly criticizing Pompeo and accusing him of “maliciously trying to inflict a lasting scar” on bilateral relations, ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration as the next US president on 20 May. January.
China regards Taiwan as a separatist province that must reunify with the mainland, even by force. But Taiwan’s leaders claim it is a sovereign state.

In a statement Saturday, Pompeo said that “for several decades, the State Department has created complex internal restrictions to regulate the interactions of our diplomats, service members and other officials with their Taiwanese counterparts.”
The United States has had close ties with Taiwan since it seceded from mainland China in 1949 after the end of a civil war.
But until recently, Washington has avoided great displays of friendship so as not to antagonize Beijing, which continues to view the autonomous democracy of around 24 million people as an inseparable part of its territory.

Referring to Taiwan as a “trustworthy” and “unofficial” partner, Pompeo, a staunch critic of China, added that the agencies of the US executive branch should consider that “contact guidelines” regarding relations with Taiwan previously issued by the State Department are “null and void.”
“The US government took these actions unilaterally, in an attempt to appease the communist regime in Beijing. Nothing more,” he said.
“Today I announce that I will lift all these self-imposed restrictions,” said the top US diplomat.
The US government maintains relationships with unofficial partners around the world, and Taiwan is no exception, he said.
“Our two democracies share the common values ​​of individual liberty, the rule of law, and respect for human dignity. Today’s statement recognizes that the relationship between the United States and Taiwan does not need, and should not, be shackled by self-imposed restrictions. of our permanent bureaucracy, “Pompeo said.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft will visit Taiwan this week to “reinforce the US government’s strong and continuing support for Taiwan’s international space,” Pompeo announced last week.
Taiwan has welcomed the latest move by the United States.
“I am grateful to @SecPompeo & StateDept for lifting the restrictions that unnecessarily limited our commitments in recent years. I am also grateful for the strong bipartisan support in Congress for the #TaiwanFlag of Taiwan Assurance Act, which calls for a revision of the previous guidelines, “tweeted Taiwan Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu.

“The closest partnership between #TaiwanFlag of Taiwan and #USFlag of the United States is firmly grounded in our shared values, common interests, and unwavering faith in freedom and democracy. We will continue to work in the months and years to come to ensure that Taiwan is and it remains a force for good in the world, “he wrote in another tweet.
In August of last year, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar became the highest-ranking American politician to visit Taiwan and hold meetings on the island for decades.
Reacting sharply to Pompeo’s decision, the government Xinhua News Agency, in a comment, he noted that he has made clear that rather than facilitating an orderly transition with the next US administration, he is maliciously seeking to inflict a lasting scar on bilateral relations.
“Pompeo’s latest move to lift restrictions on official contacts with the Chinese region of Taiwan has shown once again that he, despite being America’s top diplomat, is only interested in stoking unjustified confrontations and has no interest. in world peace, “he said.
“During his tenure as secretary of state, a crucial position for which he has convincingly shown that he is unqualified, Pompeo has relentlessly demonized China and tried to sabotage the world’s most important bilateral relationship with all his might,” the comment said. , attacking him personally.
The China Global Television Network, in a separate comment, described Washington’s move as “a cowardly act of sabotage by the incoming administration.”
The Trump administration, in its continued efforts to set the house on fire before leaving office, has crossed a dangerous red line with China, days before incoming President Biden takes office, he said.
With only 10 days to go before the US presidential transition, Pompeo is once again straining the China-US relationship and pushing the Taiwan issue deeper down the road of no return, the state-run Global Times said in a comment.
“Such a move amounts to committing a crime to structurally damage the peace in the Taiwan Strait and jeopardize efforts between China and the United States to keep the final results stable. The dire consequences will be beyond anyone’s predictions,” he said .
Tensions between China and the US have worsened in recent months over a number of issues, including trade, human rights, Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. China has increased pressure on Taiwan through a series of military exercises and air raids.