Taiwan thanks US for "staunch support" as Beijing vows to punish "certain US politicians"

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the U.S. for its "staunch support" during a call with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft on Thursday.

During the call Craft told Tsai the U.S. stands by Taiwan and always will.
The call was held in place of a face-to-face meeting which had been scheduled as part of a visit Craft had planned to Taiwan this week, in the teeth of strong objections from China which views the island as its own territory. But the trip was cancelled by the State Department as part of a ban on all travel ahead of the transition to the incoming Biden administration.

During the call Tsai said that Taiwan will continue to seek access to UN meetings and Craft expressed regret about "PRC (People's Republic of China) obstruction" which she said was blocking Taiwan's entry to such forums.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the United Nations was made up of sovereign states and Taiwan had unfettered access to the World Health Organization, which Taipei's government disputes.

China has been angered by stepped-up support for Taiwan from the administration of outgoing President Donald Trump, including trips to Taipei by top U.S. officials, further straining Sino-U.S. ties.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said he was lifting restrictions on contacts between U.S. officials and their Taiwanese counterparts.

MORE: https://globalnews.ca/news/7575459/hong-kong-lawyer-arrested/

For more info, please go to http://www.globalnews.ca
Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc
Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ
Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt
Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB
#Taiwan #GlobalNews #China