【Epoch Times, November 16, 2024】Representatives from the delegation of Taiwan, participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, stated that Taiwan’s leader representative, Lin Xinyi, met with U.S. President Biden on Friday, November 15th and invited him to visit Taiwan in the near future. The delegation described the exchange between the two as “enthusiastic”.
APEC’s forum is one of the few international conferences that both Taiwan and China participate in. However, due to the opposition from the Chinese Communist regime, Taiwan did not send its president to attend.
Lin Xinyi, a former Minister of Economic Affairs, currently serves as the chairman of Taiwania Capital, a company supported by the Taiwan government. The Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned in a statement that during the APEC summit in Lima, Lin Xinyi met with Biden and thanked him for his efforts in advancing the Taiwan-U.S. relationship.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that during an “informal dialogue between leaders and guests,” Lin Xinyi and Biden engaged in discussions, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also present.
In addition to discussing Taiwan-U.S. issues, Lin Xinyi expressed appreciation to Biden for his contributions to enhancing the Taiwan-U.S. relationship over the past four years, inviting Biden to visit Taiwan in the future. Their conversation was lively and engaging.
Subsequently, the Taiwan Representative Office in Canada shared photos on social media showing Lin Xinyi with Biden and Lin Xinyi shaking hands with Blinken, stating, “As trustworthy democratic partners, for coexistence and mutual prosperity, we are committed to building an open, flexible, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.”
However, a Biden administration official downplayed the significance of this brief interaction, referring to it as just a “handshake” in a meeting room.
The White House did not immediately respond to whether Biden plans to visit Taiwan in the future, as Biden is set to leave office on January 20th.
There have been high-level interactions between Taiwan and the U.S. at previous APEC summits, including last year’s summit held in San Francisco.
The Taiwan delegation also stated that Lin Xinyi met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday to exchange views on further strengthening Taiwan-U.S. partnership at all levels.
“They also exchanged views on issues such as ensuring regional peace and stability, and promoting prosperity and development in the region and Taiwan’s diplomatic allies. The overall discussion was constructive,” added the Taiwan delegation.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately comment.
In his speech on Friday, Blinken mentioned Taiwan, stating that Taiwan, along with the United States, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, is participating in a project to lay undersea cables, aiming to enhance the network and digital access capabilities of Pacific islands. It is widely believed that America’s similar actions in the Pacific are efforts to counter the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the region.
Despite Washington ending formal diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 to establish relations with Beijing, the United States remains Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier.
Taiwan’s democratically elected government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, emphasizing that only the people of Taiwan can determine their own future.