Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seeks avowal of independent Taiwan

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is calling on American officials to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, separate from communist China.

Mr. Pompeo told a Hudson Institute gathering on Tuesday that China banned him from visiting after he spoke in support of Taiwan. He said he wants other Americans to echo his advocacy.

“I hope more, other senior American officials will join me in this because I think it will create noise,” Mr. Pompeo said. “There will be angst, the Chinese Communist Party will bluster and threaten, but that clarity will provide the call for the world to accept the fundamental truth, that fundamental reality.”

Mr. Pompeo, who led the CIA in the Trump administration, said he confirmed Taiwan’s independence during a visit to the island nation after exiting the U.S. government.

“On my first visit to Taiwan after I left government service, I made the simple declaratory statement that Taiwan was, in fact, a sovereign, independent nation, which is simply true, right?” he said. “I’m banned from traveling to mainland China, and I landed in Taipei, proving that my passport cleared and that, in fact, this was an independent nation with all the indices, indicia of statehood.”

Former Taiwanese Defense Minister Michael Tsai praised Mr. Pompeo and said he hoped the former senior American official would someday become president.

Mr. Tsai said he hoped Washington would listen to his plea for Taiwan to join the United Nations, which he said is the island’s national goal.

“We’d like to join the U.N. to share the responsibility we can,” Mr. Tsai said. “So for this reason we today here, we humble, stand here to appeal to American friends and government [around] the world: Give us a hand. We’d like share the responsibility to help the world for peace and stability.”

Mr. Tsai said he plans to advocate elsewhere in Washington for his nation’s inclusion in the United Nations.

While Mr. Tsai pressures American policymakers to advance Taiwan’s agenda, Tom McDevitt, chairman of The Washington Times, told the gathering that he was organizing “a full strategic communications campaign to reach hundreds of thousands of people” in support of the island.

Mr. Pompeo said the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda machine is real and Americans need to push back against it. He said China is determined to discourage people’s recognition of Taiwanese independence.

Although concerns abound about Taiwan’s future amid a threatening China, Mr. Pompeo urged people not to doubt America’s resolve.

He told the gathering at the Hudson Institute, which included supporters of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance, that America’s commitment to the island was “long and deep and strong.”

“No matter how our election goes in November and who is occupying the Oval Office come January of 2025, I’m confident that this commitment will remain and that our friends and allies and partners in the region will join us in this important task,” he said. “And when we do, the Chinese Communist Party will come to see that this folly, this effort that they’re undertaking to undermine the political autonomy of Taiwan, is silly, makes no sense, is not true and real and consistent with the will of the people of Taiwan.”