《TAIPEI TIMES》 US former top diplomat Pompeo to visit

‘ROCK SOLID’: Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s visit shows the US support Taiwan enjoys and the two nations’ close friendship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

/ Reuters

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, placed under sanctions by China when he left office at the end of former US president Donald Trump’s term, is to visit Taiwan next week and meet with President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文）, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

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Pompeo and his wife would visit from Wednesday to Saturday next week, and also meet Vice President William Lai （賴清德） and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu （吳釗燮）, give a speech at the Prospect Foundation think tank and attend banquets hosted in their honor, the ministry said in a news release.

“Former secretary of state Pompeo is a long-term and staunch friend of Taiwan, and made outstanding contributions to promoting Taiwan-US relations during his time in office,” it said.

His visit shows the bipartisan “rock solid” US support for Taiwan and the close Taiwan-US friendship, it added.

As US secretary of state, Pompeo facilitated approval of numerous arm sales to Taiwan, strengthened bilateral exchanges with the establishment of new platforms and agreements, and ended the US Department of State’s restrictions on how US officials interact with their Taiwanese counterparts, it said.

Since leaving office, Pompeo has also openly supported freedom and democracy in Taiwan, it added.

In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin （汪文斌） said that Pompeo had been sanctioned by China due to his “anti-China actions.”

Taiwan would only “get burned” in its attempts to solicit support from the US for its independence, Wang told reporters.

Separately, Wang also announced sanctions on US companies Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp over US arms sales to Taiwan, at least the third time that it has announced punishments against the firms.

The sanctions are countermeasures against the two companies over a US$100 million arms sale on Feb. 7 that “undermined China’s security interests, seriously undermined China-US relations, and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Wang told a regular news briefing.

“In accordance with the relevant stipulations in China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, the Chinese government has decided to take countermeasures on the infringing acts of Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin,” Wang said.

No further details were given on the nature of the sanctions.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES