Radio Taiwan International
Date: 13 January, 2021
By: Natalie Tso

Former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton says that the US should have lifted self-imposed restrictions on its relations with Taiwan a long time ago. He was speaking to Foreign Press Association President Ian Williams on Tuesday about US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent decision to lift those restrictions.

Bolton said that the restrictions the US put on diplomats interacting with Taiwanese officials were inappropriate. They go back to when the US and Taiwan severed diplomatic ties in 1979. When the US established diplomatic relations with China, US President Jimmy Carter had guidelines written up for US diplomats’ interactions with Taiwanese officials because Beijing was sensitive about these interactions.    [FULL  STORY]