The Financial Times reported that the Biden administration is set to announce guidelines that will adopt some of the changes made during the Trump presidency to ease restrictions on meetings between U.S. diplomats and Taiwanese officials, a move that Beijing may see as provocative.
For decades, the State Department has developed complex internal restrictions governing U.S. diplomatic, military and other official interactions with Taiwanese officials, and former President Trump gave a major gift before he left office to lift restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan interactions.
The newspaper noted that experts originally observed whether Biden would make a policy U-turn, but sources familiar with the matter revealed that the Biden Administration decided to retain many of Trump’s changes.
The source said the guidelines will focus on encouraging U.S. officials to meet with Taiwanese officials, rather than placing limits on contacts between the two sides. Another source said, “Restrictions on the interaction of U.S. and Taiwanese diplomatic officials …… Most of them will be lifted.”
The display of U.S. support for Taiwanese officials is the latest indication of the Biden administration’s increasingly hardened stance toward the Chinese Communist Party. A senior official told the Financial Times last week that the United States is concerned that the Chinese Communist Party is thinking of seizing control of Taiwan as its president, Xi Jinping, is increasingly emboldened to shape his own historical positioning.
After the United States established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1979 and severed diplomatic ties with the Republic of China, it began to restrict meetings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials. However, the Taiwan Assurance Act (TAA) was passed by Congress last December, and in January, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lifted many of the restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan official contacts.
“The Taiwan Assurance Act requires the Secretary of State to submit a report to the House and Senate Foreign Affairs Committees within 180 days of the Act’s entry into force, including the results of a review of the State Department’s guidance on relations with Taiwan and an updated version of the guidelines for interactions with Taiwan, as well as the implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act.
At his appointment hearing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he hopes to create “more space for access to Taiwan officials.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. arrives in Taiwan with a delegation. Foreign Minister Wu Chiu-sup (center), Brent Christensen (left), director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei Office, and John Hennessey-Niland (right), the U.S. ambassador to Palau, jointly gave a brief talk and touched elbows in greeting at the North American Fork Hotel in Taiwan on the 30th. Central News Agency photo by Wang Feihua on March 30, 110
The U.S. Ambassador to Palau, John Hennessey-Niland, made a rare visit to Taiwan with Palau’s President Huijuren on 28th, and the Chinese Communist Party responded by sending 10 warplanes to intrude into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, disturbing Taiwan twice in 4 days. The U.S. ambassador to Palau’s visit to Taiwan is one of Biden’s initiatives to show more support for Taiwan than he did when he was Obama’s deputy.
In January, Representative to the U.S. Xiao Meiqin became the first representative to the U.S. invited to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration after Taiwan-US diplomatic relations were severed. Acting U.S. Ambassador to Japan Yang Zhou tweeted (Twitter) in early March that he invited Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan representative Hsieh Chang-ting to the ambassador’s residence for an exchange.
After Paraguay accused the Chinese vaccine manufacturer of breaking off diplomatic relations with Taiwan as a condition for obtaining the vaccine, Blinken spoke with Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez and called on Paraguay to continue working with Taiwan and other democratic partners to fight the Epidemic.
A U.S. official said the news of Blinken’s call to Paraguay’s president was made public as a deliberate show of support for those countries that still have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
“The Chinese Communist Party is trying to take Paraguay, and I don’t think Palau is in danger at this stage, but this visit to Taiwan is another demonstration of U.S. support for Taiwan and the 15 countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan,” said Bonnie Glaser, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “
U.S. scholar Elizabeth Freund Larus said that the Biden administration’s toughness toward the Chinese Communist Party was more than most experts expected, but Biden also benefited from the fact that former President Trump had paved the way for him for a long Time, and “many of the measures to ease up on Taiwan were already decided at that time.
Derek Grossman, a senior analyst at Rand Corporation, a U.S. think tank, said, “There was some thought that the Biden administration would be a little quieter on Taiwan and try to reach some kind of restart of bilateral relations with Beijing, but that didn’t happen. but that didn’t happen.”
The source familiar with the guidelines said that while the Biden administration would not revert to the policies of the pre-Trump changes, some of the restrictions remain, such as the inability to display the flag of the Republic of China during official meetings. “Any initiative related to showing sovereignty is crossing the line,” he said.
Original article in the Financial Times.
Joe Biden’s administration is set to issue guidelines to make it easier for U.S. diplomats to meet with Taiwanese officials by adopting some of the policy shifts introduced by Donald Trump. The move is likely to be seen as a provocation by the Chinese side.
Trump has taken several actions as his term comes to an end, one of which is to greatly ease restrictions that had made it difficult for U.S. diplomats to interact with Taiwanese officials. Experts had previously been waiting to see if Biden would change course.
But according to people briefed on the policy, the measures being considered by the Biden administration would retain many of the policy shifts of the Trump years. Restrictions on U.S. diplomats’ dealings with Taiwanese officials had been in place for decades until Trump eased them.
A person familiar with the guidelines said they would focus on encouraging U.S. officials to meet with Taiwanese officials at the same level, rather than imposing restrictions on their interactions. Another said restrictions on interactions “between U.S. and Taiwanese diplomats” would “no longer exist.”
The expression of support for Taiwanese officials is the latest indication of Biden’s increasingly hardened stance toward China. A senior U.S. official told the Financial Times last week that the U.S. government is concerned that the Chinese mainland is mulling a seizure of control over Taiwan.
The initial restrictions on meetings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials were introduced in 1979 after the U.S. shifted diplomatically from recognizing Taipei to recognizing Beijing. However, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lifted many of those restrictions in January after the Taiwan Assurance Act, passed by Congress last December, required a 180-day review of such restrictions.
Current Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during his nomination confirmation hearing that he wants to create “more space [with Taiwanese officials].
In a highly unusual move, the U.S. ambassador to Palau, John Hennessey-Niland, visited Taiwan with the Palauan president on Monday. The Western Pacific nation of Palau is one of 15 countries that recognize Taipei, not Beijing.
In response, the Chinese mainland sent 10 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the second major intrusion from the mainland side in four days.
The U.S. official’s trip to Taiwan with President Palau is just one example of Biden’s more public support for Taiwan (compared to when he was vice president in the Obama administration). In January, Hsiao Bi-khim, who was invited by Biden, became the first Taiwanese ambassador to the United States to attend a U.S. presidential inauguration.
More recently, Joseph Young, acting U.S. ambassador to Japan, hosted Taiwan’s representative to Japan at the ambassador’s residence in Tokyo, and announced the meeting on Twitter.
Paraguay, which also recognizes Taipei, said Blinken called the South American country’s president to stress the importance of working with democratic partners such as Taiwan after China had offered to provide a new crown vaccine in exchange for the country breaking diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
A U.S. official said the call, which has been made public, was a deliberate attempt by the U.S. to provide public support to a country that still recognizes Taiwan.
“Paraguay is in a whirlwind and mainland China is trying to scoop it up,” said Bonnie Glaser of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank, “I don’t think Palau is in danger right now, but the above visit is a new signal that U.S. supports Taiwan, and supports its efforts to keep its 15 remaining allies.”
Elizabeth Larus of the University of Mary Washington said Biden has taken a “tougher stance” toward China than most experts expected, but also benefited from the precedent set by Trump. “Part of the hard work around Taiwan has already been done for him.”
Derek Grossman of the Rand Corporation said, “It was once thought that the Biden administration would come in and lay low a little bit on Taiwan and try to achieve some kind of relationship ‘reset’ with Beijing. reset’. But that’s not the case.”
The second person mentioned above, who has knowledge of this policy shift, stressed that while Biden would not retreat to pre-Trump guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, there would still be restrictions, including the inability to display the Republic of China flag in any meetings. “Any matter related to sovereignty is off-limits.” The person familiar with the matter added.
In recent congressional testimony, Blinken described Taiwan as a “nation” despite the U.S. “one-China Policy” that recognizes Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China.
I don’t think they’re making it up as they go along,” said Shelley Rigger, a Taiwan expert at Davidson College, “Blinken is very professional, and I don’t think they’re making it up as they go along, (so) it’s probably more significant and more likely to show China that we’re not going to use your name. “
Asked if the Biden administration has decided to consider Taiwan a country, the State Department said the U.S. will “adhere to our long-standing ‘One China Policy'” while continuing to engage with Taiwan.
The U.S. has also sent warships across the Taiwan Strait in the past two months. The Pentagon also conducted a rare dual-carrier exercise in the South China Sea. Last week, the U.S. and Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation on maritime patrols.
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