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He said that “complex internal restrictions” governing relations between diplomats, service members and others had been imposed “in an attempt to appease the communist regime in Beijing,” adding: “There will be no more.”
The statement, issued less than two weeks before the end of the Donald Trump administration, will undoubtedly outrage China, which views Taiwan as its territory and seeks to keep it isolated on the world stage.
It is not yet clear what this change means in practice. Pompeo said the executive’s relations with Taiwan would be handled by the Taiwan American Institute (TAI), which is owned by the United States government and is de facto embassy.
Such changes were announced last year as tensions between the United States and China mounted.
State media are outraged
Chinese state media on Sunday voiced outrage at the outgoing Trump administration’s move toward Taiwan and accused US Secretary of State Pompeo of “maliciously causing a long-term scar on Sino-US relations.”
An official Xinhua news agency said that the lifting of the former US government restrictions on contacts with his Taiwanese counterparts showed that Pompeo “only has an interest in provoking unjustified clashes and has no interest in world peace.”
In a comment posted on the English-language CCTV channel CGTN at the time, another US administration described Pompeo’s statement as a “cowardly act of sabotage.”
“The brief administration, continuing its efforts to burn down the house before leaving office, crossed the dangerous red line with China a few days before Joe Biden took office,” the comment said.
Mr. Biden will be sworn in on January 20.
The Chinese government has yet to comment on Pompeo’s decision.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Joe Biden at a press conference
Anger for the planned visit
Trump sent several high-ranking officials to Taipei last year, including as he clashed with China over a number of issues, from fighting the coronavirus pandemic to disputes over trade, security and human rights.
Pompeo’s statement came just two days after China warned the United States would “pay dearly” if its ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, did not cancel plans to visit Taiwan on Wednesday.
Beijing opposes any diplomatic recognition by Taiwan.
Craft’s three-day visit will take place just one week before US President-elect Biden’s inauguration, further adding to the diplomatic headache for the future administration.
“The United States will pay dearly for its crimes,” the Chinese mission to the UN said in a statement on Craft’s plans.
“China urges the United States to end the mad provocation, to stop the new difficulties in Sino-US relations and cooperation between the two countries at the United Nations and to stop going in the wrong direction,” he added.
Increased hostility
The US mission to the UN said late Thursday that Craft “will strengthen the US government’s strong support for Taiwan’s international space during his visit, which was officially hosted by Taipei.”
The TAI was established in 1979 when the United States declared diplomatic recognition of mainland China under a landmark agreement that required the end of official recognition of Taiwan.
Yet Washington remains a strong ally of Taipei, and the United States has an obligation, under its own laws, to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself. Recently, increasingly modern weaponry is being sold to the island.
The United States opposes any move to change the current state of Taiwan by force.
Military tensions between mainland China and Taiwan have risen in recent years and are at their highest since the mid-1990s, some analysts say.
Chinese jets carried out a record number of 380 sorties into Taiwan’s defense zone last year, a soldier said Tuesday.
Hostility from Beijing has increased significantly since Tsai Ing-wen won the 2016 presidential election in Taiwan; rejects Beijing’s claim that the island is part of “one China.”
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