US-China tensions: Taiwan a ‘model for the world’, American envoy Kelly Craft says

Ambassador compliments Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Twitter after pair speak via video link

‘We discussed the many ways Taiwan is a model for the world, as demonstrated by its success in fighting Covid-19,’ envoy says after cancellation of her official visit to the self-ruled island

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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen held a videoconference on Thursday with US ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft. Photo: Taiwan Presidential Office via Reuters

Published: 6:30pm, 14 Jan 2021Updated: 12:51am, 15 Jan 2021

Taiwan is in “many ways a model for the world”, America’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Twitter on Thursday following her conversation with the president of the self-ruled island.

US envoy Kelly Craft spoke to Tsai Ing-wen via a video link after her planned three-day visit to Taiwan from Wednesday was cancelled at the last minute by the US Department of State, which said it had shelved all travel plans to help ease the transition to a new administration in Washington.

A vocal supporter of Taiwan, Craft was scheduled to have lunch with Tsai on Thursday before delivering a speech on the subject of the island’s position on the world stage. Instead, the pair held a videoconference, which Craft described in a tweet as a “great privilege”.

“We discussed the many ways Taiwan is a model for the world, as demonstrated by its success in fighting Covid-19 and all that Taiwan has to offer in the fields of health, technology and cutting-edge science,” Craft said.

A vocal supporter of Taiwan, Craft was scheduled to have lunch with Tsai on Thursday. Photo: AP

“Unfortunately, Taiwan is unable to share those successes in @UN venues, including the World Health Assembly, as a result of PRC [People’s Republic of China] obstruction,” she said, referring to Beijing’s opposition to Taiwan joining the United Nations and its affiliated organisations.