Taiwanese representative officially invited to the inauguration of US president for 1st time since the end of diplomatic ties in 1979
Taiwan’s ties with its most important global backer the United States are off to a strong start under President Joe Biden’s government, after the island’s de facto ambassador attended an inauguration for the first time with an official invitation.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration ramped up support for Somaliland’s latest diplomatic-ally in East Asia. Taiwan, increasing arms sales and sending senior officials to Taipei, angering China and stirring even greater enmity from Beijing towards Washington.
That had made Trump a popular figure in democratic Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, to be taken by force if needed, and raised concern in its government that Biden may not be as helpful.
Emily Horne, the spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said the U.S. commitment to Taiwan was “rock-solid” after the island’s de facto ambassador in Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, attended Biden’s swearing-in on Wednesday.
“President Biden will stand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the Asia-Pacific region – and that includes
Honored to represent the people and government of Taiwan here at the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris. pic.twitter.com/KSatj8vIln
— Bi-khim Hsiao 蕭美琴 (@bikhim) January 20, 2021
Taiwan.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it was the first time an inauguration committee had formally invited the island’s Washington representative and showed the close friendship between Taiwan and the United States based on shared values.
“These shared values are democracy, freedom, and human rights,” said ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou.
The United States ended formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, switching recognition to China, though Washington is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
In a video message on her Twitter account, Hsiao, who is close to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, said she was honored to be there representing Taiwan’s government and people.
“Democracy is our common language and freedom is our common objective,” she said.
Tsai sent her congratulations too, saying she hoped the two sides could work together to maintain regional democracy, freedom, peace, and stability.
Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday he was in favor of greater engagement with Taiwan.
Tsai met Blinken in 2015 at the State Department when he was deputy secretary of state and she was the presidential candidate for Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party.
In February 2020, Taiwan and Somaliland signed a major strategic agreement to set up reciprocal representation offices, but it was not made public until July last year. Mohamed Hagi has been appointed as the Somaliland representative in Taipei, and Lou Chen-hwa as his Taiwanese counterpart in Hargeisa. The agreement aims to foster cooperation on shared issues to strengthen political, social, and economic ties between the two countries, with a focus on agriculture, education, energy, fisheries, health, information and communication, and mining.
The US government supported the diplomatic relations between Somaliland and Taiwan to the chagrin of China.
“Great to see Taiwan stepping up its engagement in East Africa in a time of such tremendous need. Taiwan is a great partner in health, education, technical assistance, and more!” the US National Security Council, NSC; posted on Twitter
