After Taiwan’s election, its new envoy to the US offers assurances to Washington and Beijing

By DIDI TANG
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taiwan’s top diplomat in Washington has a message for both the island’s Chinese adversaries and its American friends: Don’t worry that Taiwan’s new president-elect will worsen relations with Beijing and possibly draw the U.S. into a conflict. Alexander Tah-Ray Yui spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday in his first interview with an international news organization since he arrived in the U.S. in December. The Chinese government has called Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te a troublemaker who will push Taiwan toward independence. But Yui said Lai plans to keep the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and is willing to engage with Beijing, even as the island seeks to strengthen its unofficial ties with Washington.