NPR
Date: June 11, 20185
By: Rob Schmitz

As the relationship between the U.S. and China gets testier, the White House has quietly drawn another player in the region closer. Taiwan has received unprecedented attention from Washington.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

As the relationship between the United States and China has gotten testier, the Trump administration has quietly been drawing another player in the region closer. Taiwan has received unprecedented attention from Washington, including a new complex to house America’s de facto embassy that is going to be opening tomorrow. Here’s NPR’s Rob Schmitz.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: On the second floor of Taipei’s swanky Grand Hotel, there’s a bright red hallway with dozens of framed photos featuring famous guests from the past 60 years.

You’ve got President Eisenhower, Lyndon Baines Johnson, king of Saudi Arabia, and then here in the middle, 1978, the negotiation for the United States to break diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It happened right here.

The U.S. officially recognized China’s Communist Party as the government of China. Taiwan’s status plummeted, and so, too, does the status of the famous guests at the Grand Hotel. World leaders are replaced with B-movie stars, local politicians and the king of Tonga. Taiwan has never recovered, says former senior adviser to Taiwan’s National Security Council Wen-Ching Lin.    [FULL  STORY]