US Sends Highest Ranked Official to Taiwan in Over 40 Years

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is set to visit Taiwan this week, marking the first time a cabinet-level US official has visited Taiwan in over 40 years, since the US nominally cut ties in 1979.

The US relationship with Taiwan is an historically complex one. The US recognized Taiwan’s Kuomintang-dominated government as the Republic of China through 1979. After that, the US recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as China, and has referred to the Kuomintang-occupied island of Formosa as Taiwan.

That’s just the start of the problem. The PRC doesn’t recognize Taiwan as a seperate entity, and Taiwan’s government has not asserted independence, mostly because China would likely invade them if they did.

This has led to the awkward position of the US not recognizing Taiwan as such. They operate the American Institute in Taiwan as a de facto embassy, while Congressional backing for Taiwan has meant large arms sales. In this context, the US has been dancing around Taiwan ties for four decades, making Azar’s visit both highly unusual and potentially upsetting to the PRC.

Current US hostility toward the PRC means this might been seen by the administration as a safe time to thumb their noses at them. The reality is that Azar is there mainly to talk about the Covid-19 pandemic, and about Taiwan’s supplying of medical equipment and technology, which is at least in part related to that pandemic.

China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that they have lodged “solemn complaints” over the visit, and demands the US stop all official contact with Taiwan.