Jan. 13, 2021 - Epoch Times
04:22
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| Time | Text |
|---|---|
| The United States will remove all self-imposed restrictions on contact with Taiwanese officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on January 9, laying the groundwork for closer relations with the democratic island. | |
| He tweeted from his government account on January 9, Today, I am lifting all self-imposed restrictions on executive branch agencies' interactions with their counterparts from Taiwan. | |
| This action will benefit both of our great democracies. | |
| On the State Department's official website, Pompeo announced, The United States government took these actions unilaterally. | |
| In an attempt to appease the communist regime in Beijing, no more. | |
| He ordered executive agencies to treat so-called contact guidelines on Taiwan previously issued by the State Department as null and void. | |
| The official statement concluded, Our two democracies share common values of individual freedom, the rule of law, and a respect for human dignity. | |
| Today's statement recognizes that the U.S.-Taiwan relationship need not and should not be shackled by self-imposed restrictions of our permanent bureaucracy. | |
| According to Michael Qinglonglu, a seasoned Taiwanese diplomat who had been posted in the Netherlands, Haiti, Geneva, Switzerland, and France, the U.S. government had hoped its interactions with China would help to bring about positive changes. | |
| It was this hope and expectation that caused the United States to impose certain restrictions on US-Taiwan contacts. | |
| While China has made progress in its development, we have found that it didn't fulfill its promise to integrate into the international order. | |
| Instead, China's posture suggests that it's posing a direct threat to the United States and the world. | |
| The Chinese Communist regime did not move toward democracy as the U.S. government had hoped for. | |
| On the contrary, it dares to wantonly commit evil and bully other countries. | |
| If we have to see a power transfer on January 20th, everyone is worried about what Joe Biden would do after he enters the White House. | |
| What types of changes do we expect to see in U.S.-Taiwan relations, in U.S.-China relations? | |
| That is why Pompeo's move is a preemptive move. | |
| He is taking the U.S.-Taiwan relations to the best possible level. | |
| Current affairs commentator Lan Xu believes that lifting restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan contacts will have restraining effects in case Biden plans to improve relationships with Beijing and downgrading relationships with Taiwan. | |
| In addition, it will encourage other democratic countries to develop a normal relationship with Taiwan. | |
| I am pleased to announce the upcoming visit of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft to Taiwan, a reliable partner and vibrant democracy that has flourished despite the CCP efforts to undermine its great success. | |
| Taiwan shows what a free China could achieve, Pompeo said. | |
| Current affairs commentator Lan Xu pointed out that the relationship between the United States and the Chinese Communist regime is already at the lowest point, and it is impossible that the CCP takes the initiative to sever the relationship with the United States. | |
| Therefore, there is nothing significant the CCP can do as retaliation. | |
| As for people in Taiwan, they have seen what is happening in Hong Kong, and they have made a clear choice. | |
| They don't want the one country, two system rule. | |
| They don't want to become another Hong Kong. | |
| They have rejected the CCP. More and more Taiwanese people have reached this consensus. | |
| Beijing has long claimed that the United States believes that Taiwan is a part of China, as it recognizes the One China policy. | |
| However, in November 2020, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department explained how the U.S. government understands the One China Agreement differently from Beijing's interpretation. | |
| The U.S. has long had a One China policy. | |
| This is distinct from Beijing's One China principle, under which the Chinese Communist Party, CCP, asserts sovereignty over Taiwan. |
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