United States should recognise ‘free’ Taiwan,says Pampeo

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that America should immediately move toward recognizing Taiwan as a country. “It is imperative to change 50 years of ambiguity,” said Pompeo, who is visiting Taipei in an unofficial capacity at the invitation of a think tank. “While the U.S. should continue to engage with the People’s Republic of China as a sovereign government, America’s diplomatic recognition of the 23 million freedom-loving Taiwanese people and its legal, democratically elected government can no longer be ignored and avoided,” he said in a speech Friday, Pompeo met President Tsai Ing-wen, who has angered Beijing by pushing back on its claims to sovereignty over the island.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin lashed out at Pompeo later Friday, calling him “a former politician whose credibility has long gone bankrupt.” Such a person’s babbling nonsense will have no success,” he added. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday said while delivering the government’s annual work report at the start of the National People’s Congress that Beijing would “remain committed to the major principles and policies on work related to Taiwan.”