It’s Time for the State Department to Open the Front Door
U.S. rolls out the red carpet for Beijing, but slams the front door in Taiwan’s face.
Since the passage of the Taiwan Travel Act (TTA), a bill that encourages high level visits and interactions between the United States and Taiwan, many Taiwan watchers have wondered how extensive the impact of the TTA would be. Under current State Department protocol, the Taiwanese President, Vice President, the Premier, Foreign Minister, and the National Defense Minister are all prohibited from stepping foot in Washington D.C. This ridiculous self-made policy is a result of the State department not wanting to “upset” the People’s Republic of China, an authoritarian regime which has not renounced its ambitions for annexing the democratic island nation of Taiwan.
After the TTA was passed late February, some Taiwan watchers speculated President Trump’s National Security Adviser, John Bolton, a long time pro-Taiwan ally, could visit Taiwan in June to attend the opening of the American Institute in Taiwan’s new defacto embassy complex in Taipei. However, the State Department sent Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Marie Royce to lead the U.S. delegation.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen’s high level treatment during recent stopovers in Los Angeles and Houston has been attributed to the TTA. The U.S. government lifted restrictions on Taiwanese media, allowing them to report all of the President’s public activities. President Tsai also became the first Taiwanese President to visit Taiwan’s representative offices in a non-diplomatic country. Additionally, she made a public speech at the Reagan Presidential Library, and toured the NASA’s Johnson Space Center in her official capacity as Head of State.
According to Taiwan News, Taiwan’s Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-Chung and United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently held a rare meeting in Washington D.C. Taiwan observers hailed the meeting as unprecedented, as it’s the first time a high ranking Taiwanese official has met with their U.S. counterpart in the nation’s capital. However, Taiwan’s Health and Welfare Minister is not subject to the State Department’s absurd self-ban protocol. Regarding U.S. Taiwan ties, U.S. officials consider anything involving economic, cultural, scientific, or educational ties to be “safe” interactions with Taiwan.
It remains to be seen if the State Department will adhere to the TTA and lift all restrictions on senior level Taiwanese officials visiting D.C. Ohio Representative Steve Chabot, co-founder of the Congressional Taiwanese Caucus, hopes that following the passage of the TTA, President Tsai might someday address a Joint Session of Congress or visit the White House. It’s time for the United States to stop appeasing the oppressive Chinese regime and finally open the front door for one of our most loyal allies in the world. Allowing President Tsai to speak at a Joint Session of Congress would be a major breakthrough for U.S. Taiwan relations and would let the Chinese Communist Party know: Taiwan is an inalienable ally to the United States.
Taiwan is an inalienable ally to the United States
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