State Department Taiwan Regulations Change: Critics Should Relax

When the State Department announced over the weekend that it would lift all previous guidelines governing the interactions of U.S. officials with their Taiwanese counterparts, the outraged reaction was swift.

Critics alleged that the move would constrain the incoming Biden administration and anger China, and argued that, as CNN’s Bianna Golodryga put it, “a major break in foreign policy in the last days of an administration is not exactly an orderly transition of power.” The backlash echoed the rebukes drawn by last week’s announcement that U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft would be visiting Taiwan this week, which Chinese Communist Party-owned news outlets, and more than a few U.S.-based commentators, called an unnecessary provocation. (That trip was abruptly canceled Tuesday, with the State Department saying that it’s prioritizing the transition over high-level travel.)

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Jimmy Quinn

Jimmy Quinn is the former national security correspondent for National Review.

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When the State Department announced over the weekend that it would lift all previous guidelines governing the interactions of U.S. officials with their Taiwanese counterparts, the outraged reaction was swift.

Critics alleged that the move would constrain the incoming Biden administration and anger China, and argued that, as CNN’s Bianna Golodryga put it, “a major break in foreign policy in the last days of an administration is not exactly an orderly transition of power.” The backlash echoed the rebukes drawn by last week’s announcement that U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft would be visiting Taiwan this week, which Chinese Communist Party-owned news outlets, and more than a few U.S.-based commentators, called an unnecessary provocation. (That trip was abruptly canceled Tuesday, with the State Department saying that it’s prioritizing the transition over high-level travel.)