American diplomat John Hennessey-Niland, the current United States Ambassador to Palau, made history Sunday by travelling to Taipei, thus becoming the first U.S. ambassador to visit Taiwan in an official capacity since former President Jimmy Carter cut ties with the country in favor of China in 1979.
Hennessey-Niland was part of a delegation led by Palauan President Surangel Whipps Junior which arrived to kick off a new travel bubble between Taiwan and Palau, an archipelago of over 500 islands, part of the Micronesia region in the western Pacific Ocean.
Taiwanese media reported that he was the first sitting U.S. ambassador to visit the country since diplomatic ties between the countries were severed 42 years ago.
"During his confirmation hearing in 2019, he (Hennessey-Niland) publicly expressed support for the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI). He said that he believes American ambassadors have the responsibility to express their dissatisfaction with China for its economic and political threats against Taiwan's allies. He also called on Washington to penalize Beijing for its malicious behavior," reported Taiwan News.
Reacting strongly to the US Ambassador's visit, Beijing said today that the Joe Biden administration should "properly handle Taiwan-related issues with prudence" and that the Taiwan question remains "the most important and sensitive" issue in China-US relations.
"China firmly opposes any form of official interactions between the US and Taiwan. This position is consistent and clear. We urge the US side to fully recognize that the Taiwan question is a highly sensitive issue, and that it should abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués. It must stop any official interaction with Taiwan, refrain from sending any wrong signals to Taiwan independent forces, stop any attempt to cross the bottom line, and properly handle Taiwan-related issues with prudence, lest it should damage China-US relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian during his regular press conference today.
