BEIJING, China (AFP) – China has called on the United States to “correct its mistake” after President Donald Trump approved new rules allowing top-level US officials to travel to Taiwan to meet with their Taipei counterparts.
US representatives can already travel to democratic Taiwan and Taiwanese officials occasionally visit the White House, but meetings are usually low profile to avoid offending China.
The “Taiwan Travel Act,” which Trump signed on Friday following its passage in the US Congress, encourages visits between US and Taiwanese officials ”at all levels.”
Washington cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 in favor of Beijing under the ”one China” policy. But it maintains trade relations with the island and sells it weapons, angering China.
China sees Taiwan as a renegade province and has long stated its desire for reunification.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the bill’s clauses, while not legally binding, ”severely violate” the one China principle and send ”very wrong signals to the ‘pro-independence’ separatist forces in Taiwan.”
