BEIJING (AP) – China’s state media has slammed the latest move to Taiwan by the departing Trump administration, accusing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of ‘attempting to maliciously leave a long-lasting scar on China’s US apply tires. ‘
An official from the official Xinhua News Agency also said in a comment on Sunday that lifting long-standing restrictions on U.S. government contacts with Taiwanese counterparts proves that Pompeo ‘is only interested in engaging in unfounded confrontations and has no interest in world peace. ‘
In another comment posted online by CGTN, the English channel of the state broadcaster CCTV, Pompeo’s announcement is called a “cowardly act of sabotage” by the next US government.
“The Trump administration, in its ongoing efforts to burn down the house before leaving office, crossed a dangerous red line with China days before incoming President Joe Biden took office,” the comment reads in part.
Biden takes office on January 20th.
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government on Pompeo’s decision to lift the State Department’s restrictions on how US officials could deal with Taiwan, which he said was implemented to appease the communist regime in Beijing.
“Not anymore,” Pompeo said in a statement Saturday. “Today I announce that I am lifting all these self-imposed restrictions.”
Taiwan is a sensitive issue for China’s ruling Communist Party, which views the island of 23.6 million people as an apostate province that should be placed under its rule.
Under the one-China policy, the US recognizes Beijing as the government of China and does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, it maintains unofficial contacts, including a de facto embassy in Taipei, the capital, and provides military equipment to defend the island.
Taiwan’s leaders welcomed Pompeo’s announcement.
“We thank the United States for speaking out and supporting Taiwan,” Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang told reporters. “We also hope to continue to actively communicate with each other so that Taiwan can have a greater space in the international community.”
He and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who thanked Pompeo on Twitter, stressed the values of freedom and democracy shared by Taiwan and the US – a contrast to China’s authoritarian one-party state.
Pompeo’s announcement comes two days after he said he would send Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the United Nations, to Taiwan for meetings this week. She must arrive on Wednesday.
Craft’s trip follows one by Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, in August, the first cabinet member to visit Taiwan since 2014, and another by Secretary of State Keith Krach in September.
China, which is opposed to Taiwan having its own foreign relations, sharply criticizes all such interaction. He increased air patrols from Taiwan last year and used his diplomatic influence to prevent Taiwan from participating in international forums, such as the World Health Organization’s annual meeting.
Hu Xijin, the editor of China’s state-run Global Times newspaper, tweeted that if Pompeo’s announcement is the new starting point for America’s Taiwan policy, it’s also the beginning of the countdown to Taiwan’s survival. will be.
“(China)’s fighter jets can always fly over the island of Taiwan,” he tweeted. “The option of using military means to resolve (the) issue in Taiwan will also be put on the table.”
Pompeo said that the US maintains relations with unofficial partners around the world, and that Taiwan is no exception.
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Associated Press author Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.