U.S. Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler plans to lead a delegation to Taiwan next month. Taiwan’s Executive Yuan President Su Tseng-chang confirmed the news Friday (Nov. 20). This will be the third senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan since August of this year. Taiwan said it would be pleased to see Wheeler visit. China’s Foreign Ministry says it is firmly opposed to any form of official U.S.-Taiwan relations.
Su told the Legislative Yuan on Friday that Wheeler will come to Taiwan at the invitation of Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu Zhaosi, and that the two sides will discuss international cooperation on environmental issues. He said that Taiwan-U.S. interaction has been warming and the exchanges have been close, and that Taiwan is pleased to see this and believes that Taiwan-U.S. relations will be better.
Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Xiao Meiqin, also confirmed Wheeler’s visit to Taiwan on Thursday. Hsiao did not provide more details on when Wheeler will arrive in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie said he was to invite Wheeler to Taiwan later in 2019, but the planned visit was postponed due to the new coronavirus outbreak.
James Hewitt, a spokesman for Wheeler, told the New York Times that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is still planning a visit to Taiwan, where the two sides will work together on issues such as ocean protection, air quality, marine litter, and children’s health. According to the Times, Wheeler plans to lead a 10-member delegation to Taiwan for three days during the week of Dec. 5. In addition, Wheeler will visit four Latin American countries during the Trump presidency.
Wheeler will be the third senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan since August of this year. Previously, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Henry Azar and Deputy Secretary of State John Klatsch visited Taiwan in August and September, respectively.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ou Jiang-an said Friday that the U.S. sent EPA Administrator McCarthy to Taiwan in 2014, and this year, Secretary Azar and Deputy Secretary Cratcher visited Taiwan in succession, highlighting the close and friendly relationship between Taiwan and the U.S., and is in line with the spirit of the “Taiwan Travel Act” passed by both parties in 2018. She said, “We welcome the visits of U.S. officials at all levels.
In response to Wheeler’s visit to Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference on Friday that China urges the U.S. side to fully recognize the highly sensitive nature of the Taiwan issue, abide by the “one-China principle” and the “three joint communiqués” and immediately halt its relations with Taiwan. The Chinese side urged the U.S. side to handle Taiwan-related issues carefully and appropriately so as not to undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and cooperation between China and the U.S. in “relevant important areas”. He added that China will “make justifiable and necessary responses” according to the development of the situation.
President Obama sent EPA Administrator McCarthy to Taiwan in 2014, the highest ranking U.S. government official to visit the island since 2000. Since President Trump took office, however, the United States has increased its engagement with Taiwan, including the signing of several Taiwan-Friendly Acts, numerous arms sales to Taiwan, and the dispatch of senior officials to Taiwan. All of these initiatives have sparked discontent in China.
China frequently sends military aircraft to disrupt flights to Taiwan when U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Azar and Deputy Secretary of State Cratcher visit the island, even flying over the centerline of the sensitive Strait. During Cratcher’s visit to Taiwan, China even launched combat exercises near the Taiwan Sea to warn the United States and Taiwan.
As Taiwan confirmed Wheeler’s visit, the first U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue was held in Washington, D.C., on the 20th, with Taiwan led by Economic Undersecretary Chen Zheng-Qi and the U.S. side hosted by Deputy Secretary of State Cratch, who visited Taiwan in September.
In addition, U.S. Republican Federal Senator Toomey said on September 19 that he plans to introduce a new resolution this week in support of the U.S.-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement, and he also believes that Washington should host Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States to further deepen U.S.-Taiwan bilateral diplomatic relations. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry responded that there are no plans for President Tsai’s visit to Washington.
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