(John Ransom, Headline USA) Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the US to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, which would scuttle decades of official US policy that recognizes Taiwan as a part of China.
“It is my view that the U.S. government should immediately take necessary, and long-overdue, steps to do the right and obvious thing, that is to offer the Republic of China (Taiwan) America’s diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country,” Pompeo tweeted.
Pompeo, who is rumored to be interested in a presidential run, had a notoriously acrimonious relationship with China as Trump’s secretary of state, and his latest salvo won’t help much.
It is my view that the U.S. government should immediately take necessary, and long-overdue, steps to do the right and obvious thing, that is to offer the Republic of China (Taiwan) America’s diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country.
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) March 4, 2022
“Pompeo is a former politician whose credibility has long gone bankrupt. Such a person’s babbling nonsense will have no success,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin about Pompeo’s latests comments, according to Reuters.
At a speech at the Nixon Library in 2020, Pompeo told a crowd that US engagement with China had been an historical failure, even as he acknowledged the 50th anniversary of Nixon’s détente with the Middle Kingdom communist nation.
“What do the American people have to show now, 50 years on from engagement with China?” Pompeo said, according to a Politico news report covering the event.
“Did the theories of our leaders that proposed China’s evolution toward freedom and democracy prove to be true?” Pompeo said. “Is this China’s definition of a win-win situation? And indeed centrally from the Secretary of State perspective, is America safer?”
Liberal media outfits were aghast at the comments from the then-secretary of state, saying Pompeo and Trump were “on the wrong side” of history.
It’s an assessment shared by the communists in Beijing.
“During his tenure of office, Pompeo has dented U.S. image and reputation as well as its relations with other countries more than ever,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, according to Stripes. “He will be convicted by history.”
Pompeo’s comments came as he visited Taiwan and met with Taiwan’s president, framing it against the background of the war in Ukraine.
“If any of us were mistaken or complacent about the risk to that freedom, I think we need only watch what’s taking place in Europe today to see that this continues to demand deep concerted focus leadership from those of us who cherish freedom,’ Pompeo said in a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen, according to the Daily Mail.
