Highest-Level U.S. Trip to Taiwan in Decades to Challenge China
- Azar to be most senior American to visit Taiwan since 1979
- China ‘firmly opposed’ to trip, lodges protest with U.S.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will lead a delegation to Taiwan in the highest-level visit by a U.S. cabinet official since Washington cut ties with Taipei more than 40 years ago.
Azar is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan “in the coming days” to discuss the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as supplies of medical equipment and technology, according to a statement on Wednesday from the Department of Health and Human Services. Azar said he would underscore “our shared belief that free and democratic societies are the best model for protecting and promoting health,” according to the statement.