The U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands sent a jubilant tweet on Monday, claiming to have "made some history today." He had welcomed Taiwan's de facto ambassador into the U.S. Embassy for a meeting.
The Trump administration is imposing sharply tighter restrictions on travel to the United States by Chinese Communist Party members and their families, a move Beijing describes as part of a "deep-rooted Cold War mentality."
The restrictions target holders of business (B-1) and tourist (B-2) visas, reducing the travel documents' maximum validity to one month, down from the current maximum of 10 years.
One early November morning, a Peking duck cook, several construction workers and a software engineer patiently lined up outside a Beijing vaccine facility, awaiting their turn to be injected with a coronavirus vaccine still awaiting regulatory approval.
Two senior U.S. officials have visited Taiwan since August, one to discuss the pandemic and the other to attend a funeral.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Undersecretary of State Keith Krach were the highest-ranking U.S. officials to travel to Taiwan on business since 1979, when Washington cut relations with Taipei and recognized Beijing as the rightful government of China.
China has joined a global effort aimed at fair and equitable distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine once one becomes available — an effort the Trump administration has shunned.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility, known as COVAX, is jointly led by the World Health Organization and Gavi, an alliance promoting access to vaccines.
9(MDA4MjMxOTIyMDEzMTcxNjAzMzFmMjBhZQ001))
9(MDE1MjUxMDc0MDE0MDYzMDA2MjgyM2EzMg001))
9(MDAxNzg0MDExMDEyMTYyMjc1MDE3NGVmMw004))
9(MDA5Njc0ODg4MDEzNDA5MTE5NDRhNDMzYw004))
9(MDAxMzc2NzY1MDEyOTc4NzE3NThmMjc5MA004))