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Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 23 Feb 2023
File photo Taiwan Presidential Office on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons
Taipei: With the first publicized visit of the Taiwanese foreign minister to Washington since the United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, Taiwan has scored a major diplomatic breakthrough.
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council chief Wellington Koo, along with the top envoy to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, and other senior officials arrived Tuesday and held meetings with the US officials.
This visit is seen as a pushback against China's efforts to isolate Taiwan.
According to the Taiwanese state media, the high-level delegation from Taiwan held closed-door talks with Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state, and Daniel Kritenbrink, the State Department's top diplomat for East Asia.
The Financial Times described the meeting as part of an annual "special diplomatic dialogue" between senior officials from Taiwan and the United States.
This US trip reportedly came shortly after KMT's controversial tour in China this month.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and Xi Jinping's country has stepped up a show of force against the self-ruled island nation in recent years.