Taiwan’s representative to the United States was officially invited to the inauguration ceremony of the new American president, which Taipei presented Thursday as a first since Washington chose in 1979 to recognize Beijing.
Taiwanese envoy Hsiao Bi-khim posted a photo of herself at the ceremony on Wednesday, saying she was “honored to represent the people and government of Taiwan here at the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris ”.
“Democracy is our common language, and freedom is our common goal,” she added.
The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said it was the first time in decades that a Taiwanese envoy was “formally invited” by the organizing committee of the ceremony.
The ruling Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) spoke of “a new breakthrough for 42 years”.
Mainland China (led by the Communist Party) and Taiwan (refuge for the nationalist army following the Chinese civil war in 1949) have been administered for more than 70 years by two different regimes.
The island has 23 million inhabitants, who enjoy a democratic system. But Beijing considers it a Chinese province and threatens to take it back by force in the event of a formal proclamation of independence or American intervention.
Beijing-Taipei relations have been strained since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, whose party has traditionally campaigned for the island’s independence – an absolute red line for China.
Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 in order to recognize Beijing as China’s sole official representative.
But the United States remains Taiwan’s most powerful ally and its number one arms supplier. And US presidents are being extremely cautious in their policy vis-à-vis Taiwan so as not to anger Beijing.
But the attitude changed radically under Donald Trump, who made a rapprochement with Taiwan as he faced Beijing increasingly head-on.
Unprecedented for a Taiwanese president, Ms. Tsai even called Mr. Trump to congratulate him on his election in 2016.
It is not known what will be Mr. Biden’s policy towards the island. But the presence of Ms. Hsiao at the nomination suggests that he could follow the line of his predecessor.
Kharis Templeman, a Taiwan-based expert for the Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford University, called the invitation a “subtle gesture that speaks volumes.”
In a tweet to Joe Biden after his swearing-in, President Tsai said Taiwan “stands ready to work with you as a world power in the service of good.”
Since Xi Jinping came to power, Beijing has toughened its tone vis-à-vis Taiwan. And in this context, the need to protect the island was one of the few topics that received consensus between Democrats and Republicans under the Trump presidency.
Jim Risch, Republican Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, welcomed Ms. Hsiao’s presence at the nomination.
“I congratulate the new administration on this invitation and encourage it to continue the progress made in the relationship with Taiwan to face the challenges and geopolitical realities,” he wrote on Twitter.