A top US diplomat will arrive in Taiwan on Thursday for a 40-year visit by the top State Department official to Washington's readiness to defend China and isolate its sovereign island. More symbols of the campaign are given.
The State Department said Secretary of
State for Economic Development, Energy and Environment Keith Krach was in
Taiwan late Saturday to attend a memorial service for President Li Teng Hui.
The trip, in several months, was the
second high-ranking visit to the United States, which was immediately
reprimanded’ by China, which gave Taiwan some sort of recognition and made it a
point to back the democratic island. The policy is based’ on decades.
"China strongly opposes this,"
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Thursday, adding that
the trip "encourages the arrogant attitude of Taiwan's independence
separatist forces."
Beijing considers Taiwan a part of its
territory, absorbing it into its territory - by force, if necessary.
Relations between the United States and
China have been at an all-time low for decades, with trade, military and
security issues, as well as corona virus epidemics, clashing between the two
sides.
Washington's growing reach in Taiwan, led
by US President Donald Trump, has become another flashpoint between the two
powers.
Announcing Krach's visit in a statement,
spokesman Morgan Ortagus said, "The United States has honored President
Lee's legacy by maintaining strong ties with Taiwan and its vibrant democracy
through shared political and economic values.”
Krach, along with Assistant Secretary
Robert Destro, will also discuss "ways to strengthen bilateral economic
cooperation" during his three-day visit, Taiwan's foreign ministry said.
He described him as the highest-ranking
State Department official to visit Taiwan since 1979, when Washington switched
from Taipei to Beijing for diplomatic approval.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen will host
a dinner for the US delegation on Friday.
"We look forward to further exchanges
and talks between Taiwan and the United States to strengthen the foundation for
further cooperation, including economic cooperation, through the visit of
Under-Secretary-General Krach," his office said in a statement.
- Ambassador's meeting in New York -
Beijing has discouraged any official
exchange with Taiwan, but in recent months Washington has dramatically
increased its reach.
Last month, Alex Azar, a member of the
U.S. Cabinet and head of health, visited Taiwan to highlight widely praised
efforts to curb Code 19.
On Thursday, Taiwan's foreign ministry
also confirmed that a rare meeting had taken place a day earlier between its
top official in New York, James Lee, and Washington's ambassador to the United
Nations, Kelly Clark.
Beijing has stepped up diplomatic,
economic and military pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 Sui election, rejecting
the notion that the island is part of "One China."
In recent weeks, Taiwan has reported a
sharp increase in intrusions by Chinese jets into its air defense
identification zone.
On Thursday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry
said two-day anti-submarine planes had crossed the border the day before and
had been warned’ to leave.
Washington is the island's largest arms
supplier but has historically been cautious in its official approach.
Trump has embraced Taiwan as a way to more
closely support’ dictatorial Beijing, especially as he seeks re-election in
November.
It has also approved the sale of some
large arms, some of its recent predecessors were even more hesitant.
But so far the United States has not
strayed from the unwritten red line on Taiwan, as it has not sent senior
officials whose primary responsibility is foreign affairs or defense.
Li, who died in July in 1997 at the age of
97, was a key figure in Taiwan's history, once helping to transform a
dictatorial island into a vibrant democracy and later annexed China. They were
outraged’ by the insistence on recognition.
When news of his death broke, Chinese
state media called him "the godfather of separatism in Taiwan."
With his economic focus on Taiwan's desire
for a trade deal with the United States, Krach will visit.
Taiwan last month lifted a major hurdle by
easing safety restrictions on US beef and pork - a key constituency for Trump
as the election approaches, good news for farmers.
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