TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan on Saturday cheered a new U.S. law that encourages expanded contacts between officials from Washington and the self-governing island democracy that China claims as its own and has increasingly sought to isolate diplomatically. “The Foreign Ministry recognizes and expresses gratitude for the goodwill shown by friends in the U.S. Congress and the friendly acts of the Trump Administration,” said the statement posted to the ministry’s website. It said it violates U.S. commitments not to restore direct official contacts with Taiwan that were severed when Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. Meanwhile, Beijing’s ties with Taipei have nosedived since the 2016 inauguration of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to endorse China’s insistence that Taiwan is Chinese territory. China has cut all communications with Tsai’s government and has moved to further restrict the island’s participation in international gatherings.

Source: National Post March 17, 2018 05:07 UTC