The US Department of State on Friday issued new guidelines governing US officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts, a move welcomed by Taipei as turning a new page in bilateral relations.
Shortly before leaving office, then-US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Jan. 9 announced the cancelation of previous contact guidelines, which he said were “self-imposed restrictions” that attempted to appease the Chinese Communist Party regime in Beijing.
However, the status of the guidelines has been unclear since US President Joe Biden entered the White House.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Asked about the issue during a legislative session on Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said the adjustments could be significant.
The department on Friday said it had issued the new guidelines to “encourage US government engagement with Taiwan that reflects our deepening unofficial relationship.”
The guidelines “liberalize guidance on contacts with Taiwan, consistent with our unofficial relations, and provide clarity throughout the executive branch on effective implementation of our ‘one China’ policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques, and the ‘six assurances,’” it said in a news release.
“The guidance underscores Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, and an important security and economic partner that is also a force for good in the international community,” it said. “The new guidelines have been issued following a review as set forth in the Taiwan Assurance Act.”
The Taiwan Assurance Act, signed into law by then-US president Donald Trump in December last year, requires the US Department of State to review the contact guidelines, in addition to supporting normalized sales of arms to Taiwan and Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
The department did not publish the entire content of the new guidelines, and the American Institute in Taiwan said it has no details to offer beyond the department’s statement at the moment.
The new guidelines, which were circulated within US government agencies but not released to the public, reportedly allow US officials to hold regular meetings with their Taiwanese counterparts, including at Taiwan’s representative offices in the US.
The policy would also allow officials to participate in meetings at Twin Oaks, the former residence of Taiwanese ambassadors to the US which is now used for official functions, although they would not be allowed to attend celebrations of Double Ten National Day and other Taiwanese holidays, the Central News Agency reported.
As for whether Taiwan’s president, vice president, premier, vice premier and ministers of defense and foreign affairs — the so-called six high-ranking officials — can visit Washington, Wu said on Thursday that such visits are not covered by the guidelines.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) yesterday welcomed the new guidelines and anticipated more interactions between the two nations.
Relaxing the contact guidelines is a move that has bipartisan support in the US, he said.
The revised guidelines aim to reflect the close Taiwan-US interactions of the past few years and relax “untimely” restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release.
The US explained related content to Taiwan prior to its announcement of the guidelines, it said, adding that it welcomes the department’s reaffirmation of its “rock-solid” commitments to Taiwan through action.
The revised guidelines explicitly promote relations with Taiwan, while opening a new page in bilateral ties as the US’ Taiwan Relations Act enters its 42nd year this year, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
UNITED: The premier said Trump’s tariff comments provided a great opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together to maintain the nation’s chip advantage The government is considering ways to assist the nation’s semiconductor industry or hosting collaborative projects with the private sector after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Trump on Monday told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals “in the very near future.” “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before,” Trump said at the Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida. “They
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
TAIWAN DEFENSE: The initiative would involve integrating various systems in a fast-paced manner through the use of common software to obstruct a Chinese invasion The first tranche of the US Navy’s “Replicator” initiative aimed at obstructing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be ready by August, a US Naval Institute (USNI) News report on Tuesday said. The initiative is part of a larger defense strategy for Taiwan, and would involve launching thousands of uncrewed submarines, surface vessels and aerial vehicles around Taiwan to buy the nation and its partners time to assemble a response. The plan was first made public by the Washington Post in June last year, when it cited comments by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue
RSS