US official set to arrive in Taipei as Washington makes swift use of new Taiwan Travel Act
Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary of state, expected to meet island’s officials, US business representatives on three-day trip
In a move that looks certain to raise the ire of Beijing, a senior US official was set to arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday, just days after US President Donald Trump approved a travel bill allowing American representatives to meet their counterparts on the self-ruled island.
Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary of state in the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, will visit Taipei from Tuesday to Thursday, after holding meetings in Singapore, according to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), an NGO established under the auspices of the US government.
During his trip, Wong will speak at the American Chamber of Commerce’s Hsieh Nien-fan dinner – an annual event at which members of the US business community get to mingle with Taiwanese officials – and hold discussions with local authorities on matters of interest to the two sides, the AIT said, without elaborating.
News of Wong’s trip came as the annual meeting of China’s National People’s Congress was wrapping up in Beijing. In his closing speech, President Xi Jinping said that forces leaning towards independence in Taiwan or “any efforts to divide” the self-ruled island would “face the punishment of history”.
