Beijing urges low-key approach to opening of compound in Taipei, in new flashpoint with Trump administration

The Wall Street Journal
Date: June 10, 2018
By: William Kazer

TAIPEI—Tuesday is a big day for China, thanks to the Trump administration—and not only because the U.S. president plans to meet with the leader of North Korea.

The U.S. will also be opening a new compound for its de facto embassy in Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as its own and has been a longstanding flashpoint between Washington and Beijing. To officials in the U.S. and Taiwan, Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in Taipei symbolizes the strength of their partnership.

Chinese diplomats have urged the Trump administration not to dispatch a senior cabinet secretary to the event, according to a U.S. official. Doing so, the diplomats suggested, would violate an understanding that Washington should have only unofficial relations with Taiwan.[FULL  STORY]