Days before the Trump administration leaves office, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft will be visiting Taiwan on January 13-15 to “[meet] with senior Taiwan counterparts and members of the diplomatic community.” This is yet another high-level visit from a U.S. official, following U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar last August and U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach last September.
In the same week, Pompeo further announced that the U.S. Department of State is voiding decades worth of “complex internal restrictions to regulate [U.S.] diplomats, servicemembers, and other officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts.” While the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan will continue to be officially unofficial, the lifting of the restrictions may make it easier for Taiwanese and U.S. government officials and diplomats to work and appear together publicly. The de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei, American Institute in Taiwan, will also have larger say in how the U.S. government handles its relations with Taiwan.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu welcomed the move.
Ilha Formosa - Alt om Taiwan 