Taiwan’s envoy to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, has met with US State Department official Sung Kim on Wednesday. Kim is the Biden administration’s Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs. The meeting is being seen as a good sign for the future of Taiwan-US ties because of where it took place: inside the US State Department building.
Until recently, US officials had always scheduled meetings with Taiwan’s envoys in low-key, unofficial locations in order to avoid offending China.
Hsiao attended another meeting at the State Department building last year, during the Trump administration. The fact that another such meeting has taken place in the building in the early days of Joe Biden’s presidency is being seen in Taiwan as a sign that the significant advancements in bilateral ties made under Trump are here to stay.
In another significant move, the US State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs publicized the meeting, tweeting a photo of Hsiao and Kim together. The tweet described Taiwan as a leader in democracy as well as an important economic and security partner of the United States. The tweet also said that the United States is working to deepen its ties with Taiwan.