US minister praises Taiwan's democracy on landmark visit

Text by: RFI Follow

5 mins

US Health Secretary Alex Azar celebrated the strength of Taiwanese democracy and its successes against the coronavirus during a historic visit to the island, which was condemned by Beijing.

Publicity

“  Taiwan's response to Covid-19 has been among the most effective in the world, and this reflects the open, transparent, democratic nature of Taiwan society and culture  ,” said Alex Azar during his speech. interview with Tsai Ing-wen. The Taiwanese president is China's pet peeve who accuses her of seeking formal independence for the island of 23 million people.

Tsai Ing-wen in return thanked the United States for supporting its efforts to have Taiwan admitted as an observer to the World Health Organization (WHO), while Beijing obtained to exclude the island of the UN agency. A refusal that the president deemed "  highly regrettable  ". “  Political considerations should never take precedence over health rights  ,” she argued.

Arriving this Sunday for a three-day visit, the Secretary of Health is the highest ranking American official to visit Taiwan since 1979. That year, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Taipei, the capital of the island, in order to recognize the Beijing-based Communist government as the sole representative of China. The Americans remain, however, with some ambiguity, the island's most powerful ally and its main supplier of arms.

"  Deep partnership  " between Washington and Taipei

This trip comes against a backdrop of growing tensions between Washington and Beijing, which clash on a whole host of subjects: from the Hong Kong file to trade issues, including responsibilities in the coronavirus pandemic.

A few days ago, the Chinese government presented Alex Azar's visit as a threat to "  peace and stability  ". Criticisms swept aside by the Secretary of Health: "  The message of the American government that I carry is to reaffirm the deep partnership that unites the United States and Taiwan in matters of security, trade, health and our common values ​​which are the democracy, economic freedom and freedom,  ”Alex Azar told reporters before meeting the president.

The People's Republic of China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces. The island is ruled by a rival regime which took refuge there after the communists seized power on the mainland in 1949, at the end of the Chinese civil war. Taiwan is not recognized as an independent state by the UN. And Beijing threatens to use force in the event of a formal proclamation of independence in Taipei or outside intervention - notably from Washington.

Less than 500 cases of Covid-19 in Taiwan

Alex Azar was critical of China's attitude to a pandemic that appeared on its soil, and that of the WHO. A position he held again on Monday. Taiwan "  knew from the start [...] that we should not trust the assertions coming from there [Beijing, editor's note] and the validations made by the World Health Organization  ", he said. .

Taiwan is one of the territories that has best managed the coronavirus crisis. Despite its geographic and commercial proximity to mainland China from where the epidemic started, the island has recorded fewer than 500 cases of coronavirus and only seven deaths.

The United States, for its part, is the country where the disease has killed the most, with more than 160,000 deaths. And detractors of US President Donald Trump accuse him of toughening up his tone against Beijing to better make people forget the mistakes of his administration in the fight against Covid-19, three months before the presidential election.

► To listen: Taiwan rid of the coronavirus, but cut off from the rest of the world

Beijing Red Line

The Trump administration is aware of the risks of escalation on the question of Taiwan, one of the most sensitive for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. She refrained from crossing the Beijing red line: a visit to Taipei by US officials in charge of national security issues.

In the 1990s, US foreign trade officials made several visits to Taiwan. The difference this time is the context: Alex Azar goes to Taipei at a time when relations with China are at their worst.

Brief Chinese air foray over Taiwanese waters

China had promised retaliatory measures against the American official's visit to Taipei, without specifying their nature. On Monday, Chinese J-11 and J-10 fighter jets briefly crossed the line separating mainland Chinese and Taiwanese waters in the Taiwan Strait, authorities in Taipei said. A brief foray around 9 a.m. (1 a.m. UT), shortly before the meeting between Alex Azar and President Tsai Ing-wen, announced the Taiwan Air Force.

The Chinese devices were followed by the anti-aircraft missile batteries and the Taiwanese air force, the army statement said. It is only the third incursion of Chinese aircraft beyond the line separating the territorial waters of the two countries into the Taiwan Strait.

► See also: Taiwan sees an increase in China's military activity at its gates

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Taiwan
• Tsai Ing-wen
• United States
• China

On the same subject

Arrival in Taiwan of the US Secretary of Health, a visit condemned by Beijing

Eco from here eco from elsewhere

Taiwan, an unknown economic power

Taiwan sees increased military activity from China on its doorstep