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US Lifts Ban on Official Contacts with Taiwan. So, Who's Coming?

Ralph Jennings

   Taiwan should expect one or two senior visitors this month and an open
   door in the years ahead following the U.S. government's decision
   Saturday to lift its ban on high-level contacts, a rule it had observed
   to get along with the Asian island's political rival China, scholars
   believe.

   U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo declared Saturday that previous
   restrictions on Taiwan-bound travel by American diplomats, service
   members and other officials were "null and void." He said the U.S.
   government had been living by the self-imposed rules in an "attempt to
   appease the Communist regime in Beijing."

   Trump's administration has warmed toward Taiwan diplomatically and
   militarily since 2017 as the U.S. clashes with old Cold War foe China
   over trade, technology sharing and consular issues. China claims
   self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and gets angry when the
   United States supports Taipei.

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