Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

The National Immigration Agency (NIA) and the Tourism Bureau announced on the weekend that 9,500 employees of the Beijing-based Pro-Health Company and their family members would come to Taiwan on a sightseeing tour late this month, adding that the south would not be part of the itinerary.

This time, the claim that visits by or documentaries about individuals (such as Uighur rights activist Rebiya Kadeer) who are loathed by Beijing was behind the decision to spurn the south cannot be sustained, even if no reason has been given for the decision.

US President Barack Obama has broken with a tradition of almost 20 years by overturning a decision by national security officials to let the US president “meet by chance” with the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, who is currently visiting Washington. There are reasons for this decision, which may affect US-Taiwan relations.

In late July, the Obama administration met leaders from Beijing at the first ever US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington, where a preliminary consensus was reached on issues such as the global financial crisis, climate change, North Korea and anti-terrorism.