Mon January, 2021, Age: 3 years
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lifted internal State Department restrictions that limited contact between U.S. personnel and and their Taiwanese counterparts. The decision is sure to irk China which maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory. The lifting of restrictions governing inter-personnel interactions is one of a series of moves the Trump administration has made to bolster ties with Taiwan in the waning days of the administration. Last week, Pompeo announced that the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. would visit the island nation in the near future. These actions have been viewed as a departure from the U.S. “One-China” policy, which tacitly acknowledged China’s claims to Taiwan, that governed U.S.-Chinese relations for decades.