The move is opposed by Beijing.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will travel to Taiwan in the next few days to discuss the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the highest level visit by a U.S. official to the country in more than 40 years, Secretary Azar will lead a delegation in hopes of strengthening ties between the U.S. and the island nation.
“Taiwan has been a model of transparency and cooperation in global health during the COVID-19 pandemic and long before it,” the U.S. health secretary said in a statement.
“This trip represents an opportunity to strengthen our economic and public health cooperation with Taiwan, especially as the United States and other countries work to strengthen and diversify our sources for crucial medical products,” he continued.
China has been seeking to isolate Taiwan, and a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they were “firmly opposed to official interactions between the U.S. and Taiwan.”
Taiwan is a self-governing nation and important as an ally in the Pacific, but the Communist Party in China contests Taiwan’s sovereign status.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Azar and others who will be traveling with him to have a successful interface with officials of Taiwan.
- About the escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington and the impact of the Administration strengthening its ties with Taiwan.
Sources: New York Times, Wall Street Journal
