Chinese state media blast Pompeo's move on Taiwan

Beijing: China’s state media lashed out at the latest move on Taiwan by the departing Trump administration, accusing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of “seeking to maliciously inflict a long-lasting scar on China-US ties”. A writer for the official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary on Sunday that the lifting of longstanding restrictions on US Government contacts with Taiwanese counterparts proves that Pompeo “is only interested in stoking unwarranted confrontations, and has no interest in world peace”. A commentary posted online by CGTN, the English-language channel of state broadcaster CCTV, called Pompeo’s announcement “a cowardly act of sabotage” of the next US administration. There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government on Pompeo’s decision to end State Department restrictions on how US officials can interact with Taiwan, which he said had been implemented to appease the Communist regime in Beijing.

Taiwanese leaders welcomed Pompeo’s announcement.

“We are expressing our gratitude toward the US for speaking out and supporting Taiwan,” Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters. “We also hope to interact actively with each other further, so that Taiwan could have an even bigger space in the international society.” AP