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US announces 'highest level' visit in decades to Taiwan
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar (right) speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC as US President Donald Trump (L) looks on. Mandel Ngan | Afp
What you need to know:
- Washington's trade office in Taipei confirmed that health chief Alex Azar would lead an upcoming delegation to the self-ruled island, which China's communist leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize.
- Taiwan's foreign ministry confirmed the trip and said Azar would meet the island's foreign and health ministers.
- The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979.
The United States on Wednesday announced its "highest level" visit in decades to Taiwan, a move sure to infuriate China at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing are at historic lows.
Washington's trade office in Taipei confirmed that health chief Alex Azar would lead an upcoming delegation to the self-ruled island, which China's communist leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize.
