U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft made a video call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday. Craft was scheduled to visit Taiwan on Jan. 13, however, the State Department announced in a statement Jan. 12 that all planned trips this week have been canceled, including Craft’s planned visit to Taiwan.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Jan. 9 the cancellation of self-imposed U.S. restrictions on contacts between U.S. and Taiwan officials.
The video link between Craft and Tsai was held on the evening of Jan. 13 EST, the morning of Jan. 14 local time in Taiwan.
According to Taiwan’s presidential website, in addition to thanking the United States and Ambassador Craft for their unwavering support of Taiwan, Tsai expressed regret that she was unable to come to Taiwan this time and looked forward to meeting in Taiwan in the future. Tsai also emphasized that Taiwan is a force for good and has the ability and determination to contribute to the international community. She also said that Taiwan will continue to promote its membership in the United Nations and its affiliated conferences and activities in the future, and continue to let the world know that Taiwan is also an important partner.
We talked about Taiwan becoming a role model for the world in many ways, as evidenced by Taiwan’s success in the fight against the new crown pneumonia, Craft tweeted after the video link.
In her tweet, Kraft said, “I made it clear to President Tsai Ing-wen that the United States stands with Taiwan. As friends and partners, we will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder as pillars of democracy.”
Tsai and Craft also held an in-depth dialogue on Taiwan’s international engagement, deepening cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, sharing democratic ideas, exchanging educational resources, and other related topics.
David Feith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security Policy and Multilateral Affairs in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Asia-Pacific Affairs, joined them online. Taiwan’s National Security Council Secretary General Gu Li-hsiung, Foreign Minister Wu Chiu-sup, and AIT Taipei Office Director Li Ying-jie also participated in the video conference.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference on Thursday (Jan. 14) that “China firmly opposes any form of official U.S.-Taiwan exchanges. Zhao said that Craft’s “words and actions in the video link seriously interfere with China’s internal affairs, seriously violate the one-China principle and the provisions of the three U.S.-China joint communiqués, and seriously violate the U.S. political commitment on the Taiwan issue, which China resolutely opposes”. He also threatened that some U.S. politicians who undermine the one-China principle and damage U.S.-China relations will “pay a heavy price” for their words and actions.
The Associated Press reported that a statement tweeted by a spokesman for the Chinese delegation to the United Nations condemned the video conference, saying “the United States should understand that unsupported attempts to challenge the one-China principle are doomed to failure.”
China considers Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and will sooner or later reunite with the mainland. China has not ruled out the use of force to achieve reunification, repeatedly stating that Taiwan has no place in global organizations and warning the United States against official contacts with Taipei.
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