The United States will send an unofficial delegation to Taiwan after the self-ruling island nation holds its presidential and parliamentary election on Jan. 13, according to a White House official.
Kathleen Waters, the deputy spokesperson for the National Security Council (NSC), confirmed the Biden administration’s plans during a call with reporters on Jan. 10.
According to Ms. Waters, the unofficial delegation will meet with both the president-elect and the other candidates and stress the importance of close relations between the United States and Taiwan as well as what Washington’s “One China policy is and is not.”
The delegation will be made up of former high-ranking officials, Ms. Waters said, although she did not provide further details regarding exactly which former senior officials would be deployed for the visit.
Touching on Washington’s “unique” unofficial relationship with Taipei, the NSC spokesperson said face-to-face unofficial delegations are the most “effective” way to ensure both nations are communicating effectively.
“It’s exactly this type of engagement that contributes to peace and stability in our view,” she said.
Delegation Not Viewed as ‘Escalatory’
Ms. Waters noted Washington has sent unofficial delegations to Taipei in the past, including in April 2021 and February 2022. She said that neither of those visits was viewed as “escalatory” by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), thus sending delegations “is well within precedent.”The White House official also stressed that the delegation’s visit will take place after the high-stakes presidential election concludes on Jan. 13 to ensure Washington is “not endorsing one candidate or one party over the other.”
Taiwan’s elections are being closely watched amid a backdrop of increased tensions with China, which views the former as part of its own territory and has stepped up its military harassment of Taiwan in recent years.
Taiwanese prosecutors are also currently investigating allegations that the CCP bribed Taiwanese officials with Chinese-subsidised trips to China and money to influence the election and are expected to release their findings after the vote.
Washington Focused on ‘Peace, Stability’
NSC Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran told reporters on the Jan. 10 call that the United States opposes any outside interference or influence in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections and has “full confidence” in the island’s democratic processes, issuing previous remarks by Biden administration officials.“Taiwan is a model for democracy not only in the region but also globally,” she said.
“We oppose any outside interference or influence in Taiwan’s elections. Of course, the United States does not take sides in these elections, does not have a favored or preferred candidate, regardless of who is elected, our policy toward Taiwan will remain the same, and our strong unofficial relationship will also continue.”
Ms. Beran noted tense relations between the United States and China over the years, including “differences” on cross-strait issues.
“But over the last 40 years, we have managed these differences,” she added, noting that President Joe Biden met with President Xi in San Francisco in November, where the former made clear that U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not and will not change.
“The point being here, we are focused on peace, stability, and status quo and talking via our normal channels of communication with both Beijing and Taipei through types of unofficial delegations like the one we will be sending post-election,” she concluded.
