The United States announced that the Minister of Health visited Taiwan and then impact

Ming Pao News Agency

Taiwan and the United States announced yesterday that Alex Azar, the Minister of Health and Public Services, will recently visited Taiwan. He is the first American Health Minister who visited Taiwan and the first American cabinet member to visit Taiwan in 6 years.In 1979, the US -Taiwan interrupted diplomatic relations to visit Taiwan's highest -level American cabinet.This is the most significant development of Taiwan -US relations after the recent reopening of the office in Taiwan. It will definitely bring a new impact on Sino -US relations and cross -strait relations that have fallen into the trough.Starting from the overall situation of Sino -US relations in Beijing, I am afraid that there may not be a fierce reaction in the short term. However, the United States will not stop here to gradually upgrade the Taiwan card. When it reaches the critical point of the red line, the choice of both sides of the Taiwan Strait is very limited.

According to Taiwan media reports, as early as a month, the front Taiwan has begun to discuss Azar's visit to Taiwan. Azar is expected to visit Taiwan from the 10th to 13th.The President Tsai Ing -wen, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.It can be seen that although this trip to promote cooperation between the two sides in resistance to resistance, it seems that avoiding sensitive areas such as national defense and diplomacy, but the political significance still cannot be despised.

The highest -level officials visited Taiwan in 41

Jun Terrace Santai Island Office

The United States Association in Taiwan (AIT) said in the relevant press release, saying that Azar's visit was historic, and praised Taiwan as a free and transparent democratic society, against the results of the epidemic, showing Taiwan's key role in the international community.The Presidential Palace in Taiwan responded that Azar's visit to Taiwan was a friendly witness of Taiwan -US relations.

After 1979, the United States broke diplomatic relations. It was not until the President of 1992, and the United States sent minister -level trade representatives to visit Taiwan. So far, there have been 5 cabinet members of the Minister of Transport, Minister of Energy, and Environmental Protection.The 12th rank of Health Minister is higher than the 14th position of the transportation minister and the 15th energy minister, and is higher than the rear -ranked trade representatives and the director of environmental protection.Therefore, Azar is the most visited American cabinet official in 41 years, which is very symbolic to the development of Taiwan -US relations.

Although as early as 1994, the Klinton government reviewed Taiwan's policy review, it opened a cabinet member except the Secretary of State and the Minister of Defense to visit Taiwan.However, the press release of AIT yesterday emphasized that the Taiwan Travel Law signed by Trump in 2018 allows the dispatch of senior American officials to visit Taiwan. This visit is a ring of the US policy.This means that there is a new starting point for US -Taiwan relations. Azar will not be the last or the highest -level officials to visit Taiwan. Whether there will be higher -level US diplomacy and national defense officials in the future, it deserves close attention.

The day before Azar's visit to Taiwan was exposed, the Taiwan Foreign Affairs Department announced that the office in Guam in the United States was scheduled to resume the museum at the end of August and early September. This will be Taiwan's 13th hall in the United States.In the context of the Sino -US Consulate General, the political significance of Taiwan's re -opening of the Guandao Office is even more prominent.

Since the interruption of the United States and Taiwan, the embassy of the Taiwan embassy in Washington has been changed to the representative office in the United States, and the representative office is under New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Hawaii, DenverThere are offices in 12 places in Guam, which is equivalent to the de facto consulate.In 2017, the Taiwanese office was closed by the Taiwanese side in 2017 on the grounds of budget deployment and manpower configuration. However, after the United States proposed the Indo -Pacific strategy in 2018, Taiwan cooperated and decided to reopen this year.In contrast, Beijing, which has formal diplomatic relations with the United States, is now allowed to open 4 Consulate General in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.The hot and cold relationship between the United States and Taiwan and the United States, the imbalance between the triangular relations has long been found.

Beijing low -key avoiding conflicts

Beauty boiled frogs approaching the red line

Regarding Azar's journey to Taiwan, China was low -key yesterday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin only said that China had proposed to the United States with a serious negotiation in Beijing and Washington.The State Council spokesman Ma Xiaoguang warned the DPP authorities to be self -respect, Gan Dangdang, and linked to the United States to obtain political private interest, which was very dangerous.Whether it is the State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, or Cui Tiankai, the ambassador to the United States, did not mention this in yesterday's public remarks. It only emphasized that China does not want the tensions between China and the United States to further upgrade. China is preparing to calm down and rationality to face the face.The impulse and anxiety to the United States.It is reported that in the middle of this month, Liu He, a representative of trade negotiations between China and the United States, will hold a video conference with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer to review the implementation of the first stage of trade agreement.At this moment, Beijing may not be willing to have an outer branch to open up a new battlefield with the United States.Therefore, Azar's trip, like the past American cabinet's trip to Taiwan, will not make Beijing a fierce response.

However, if the American -boiled frog -style gradual upgrade strategy touches the red line of Beijing, the tension of the Taiwan Strait will reach or exceed the critical point, and Beijing will not have many choices.Of course, in addition to the military conflict crisis, pressure on Taiwan's economic and trade pressure will also worsen Taiwan's economy. The 10 -year validity period of the Cross -Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) will expire next month. Because the renewal initiative is on the mainland, Taiwan is the main benefit party.The island's industry is intense attention.Taiwan President Tsai Ing -wen also saw the crisis. She said yesterday that US -China relations have deteriorated this year, and recently have a more upgraded trend. Taiwan has also been affected. She must review the situation and deal with it.However, it is difficult to know how to do it. The DPP is a political party with Taiwan independence as the party. The United States uses Taiwan to stimulate the mainland. Can Taiwan independence be allowed to retreat on the way to advance?, Cai Yingwen has less choices.