U.S. Ends Restrictions on Diplomats Over Taiwan, Pompeo Says
The U.S. will remove “self-imposed restrictions” on how its diplomats and other officials approach Taiwan, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said, a move that’s likely to inflame tensions with China over the One China policy.
“For several decades the State Department has created complex internal restrictions to regulate our diplomats, service members, and other officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts,” Pompeo said in a statement Saturday. “No more.”
Pompeo, a frequent critic of China, said the U.S. government has previously taken its actions regarding Taiwan “in an attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing.”
Going forward, executive branch agencies should consider all “contact guidelines” concerning relations with Taiwan previously issued by State to be null and void, he said.
“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,” Pompeo said.
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