US diplomats scrap trips to Taiwan, Europe after Capitol invasion
All overseas travel plans cancelled, including US ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft’s planned trip to Taiwan, says state department
The announcement comes amid threats from Beijing over the planned trip to Taipei
NEW YORK The cancellation of all travel by the U.S. State Department this week includes a planned visit to Taiwan by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations…
English By Ralph Jennings Share on Facebook Print this page
Taiwan should expect one or two senior visitors this month and an open door in the years ahead following the U.S. government’s decision Saturday to lift its ban on high-level contacts, a rule it had observed to get along with the Asian island’s political rival China, scholars believe.
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo declared Saturday that previous restrictions on Taiwan-bound travel by American diplomats, service members and other officials were “null and void.” He said the U.S. government had been living by the self-imposed rules in an “attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing.”
Indonesian divers close in on black boxes from crashed jet
Indonesian navy divers said they were closing in on data recorders from the Sriwijaya Air jet that plunged into the Java Sea two days ago with 62 people on board. The recovery of the black boxes will allow for a probe into the cause of the crash, although that could take several months.
Rescuers have so far found one of the jet’s turbines, pieces of the plane’s tail, the rim of a wheel and an emergency chute, as well as clothing and personal belongings from passengers. One of the investigators told the media that the plane was probably intact as it hit the water, with much of the debris found in a fairly limited space.