The State Department announced on September 9 that it has completed new guidelines for engagement with Taiwan; the United States will maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan and relax the rules for engagement with Taiwan under the original “One China Policy” framework; however, the State Department only made a declaration of principle, and did not announce specific criteria for relaxing engagement with Taiwan.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement released on September 9 that the State Department has issued new guidelines for interactions with Taiwan to encourage U.S. government dealings with Taiwan in response to the deepening unofficial relationship between the United States and Taiwan.
Price said the new guidelines emphasize that Taiwan is a thriving democracy, an important security and economic partner of the United States, and a force for good in the international community; they relax the rules for engagement with Taiwan, are consistent with the unofficial relationship between the United States and Taiwan, and clearly provide all executive departments with the means to effectively implement the U.S. “One China” policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiqués and the six pledges. The “One China Policy” is based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiqués and the six pledges.
Price said the State Department is reviewing its restrictions on travel to and from Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Assurances Act, and will issue new guidelines after the State Department completes its review.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Jan. 9 that restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan relations would be lifted, calling them “self-imposed” restrictions that would allow the executive branch to invalidate previous State Department guidelines on relations with Taiwan.
President Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who appeared before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year for an appointment hearing, said, “I think we should look at our dealings with Taiwan, the outgoing Secretary of State (referring to Pompeo) issued some regulations, and we will take a hard look at the regulations that were put in place as a result of the ‘Taiwan Reassurance Act. ‘ The regulations that were put in place, we’ll review this.”
The State Department’s so-called restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan relations include a memorandum on “Guidelines on the Relationship with Taiwan” that was not made public; the “Taiwan Reassurance Act,” which took effect late last year, puts it in writing. The State Department’s so-called restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan relations include an unpublished “Guidelines on the Relationship with Taiwan” memorandum; the Taiwan Assurances Act, which took effect late last year, puts this in writing and recommends that the State Department review the updated version of the guidelines on the relationship with Taiwan.
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