There’s no relationship between two countries on Earth quite like that between the United States and Taiwan. The island nation is America’s ninth-largest trading partner and one of the main global customers for U.S. arms exports. As containing China’s regional ambitions has become a guiding aim of U.S. policy in East Asia, the defense of Taiwan, with its strategically vital location, has only grown in importance. As a now-consolidated democracy, Taiwan enjoys strong bipartisan support in Washington, and its remarkably successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has only boosted its public image.
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But for all that support, official U.S. policy does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation.
The U.S. State Department vowed to back Taiwan over the weekend and called on China to discontinue its military, diplomatic and economic pressures against the sovereign island.
On Saturday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, “The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC attempts to intimidate its neighbors, including Taiwan. We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives.”
Price’s comments come as China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has increasingly flown military fighter jets and surveillance aircraft inside of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
China imposes sanctions on Pompeo, other 27 U.S. policymakers
China has decided to impose sanctions on former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other 27 policymakers for violating the country s sovereignty in recent years, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday on its website.
The move underscores Beijing s grudges against former U.S. President Donald Trump s administration, which promoted anti-China policies such as higher tariffs, sanctions on Chinese high-tech companies and its support of measures for Hong Kong and Taiwan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying attends a press conference in Beijing on Jan. 21, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
China, meanwhile, expressed willingness to make efforts to ease tensions with the United States under new President Joe Biden, who took office on Wednesday, calling on him to work together to improve relations between the world s two major powers.
2021/01/22 12:55 Keith Krach. (TAITRA photo) Keith Krach. (TAITRA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) In response to being sanctioned by Beijing for his September visit to Taiwan, former State Department official Keith Krach described it as a badge of honor and refused to bow to the China bully. From Sept. 17-19, Krach, who was serving as the U.S. undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, paid an official visit to Taiwan. His trip was historic, as he was the highest-ranking State Department official to visit Taiwan since President Jimmy Carter severed diplomatic ties with the country in 1979. China responded to the trip by dispatching military aircraft on sorties over Taiwan s ADIZ on an almost daily basis for the next four months, with 17 incursions taking place so far in January alone. On Jan. 20, when President Joe Biden took office, China imposed sanctions on 28 Trump-era officials