The Chinese communist regime’s recent personnel change among its top diplomats amid rising domestic unrest and Beijing’s aggression aimed at Taiwan has attracted international attention, with experts calling it Beijing’s clear new directive of “special agent” diplomacy.
Experts are warning that diplomats, particularly those from the United States and Taiwan, must be prepared for the regime’s use of gray-zone tactics that threaten the norms of effective diplomacy.
John J. Tkacik, Jr., director of the “Future Asia Project” of the U.S.-based think tank International Assessment and Strategy Centera and retired U.S. diplomat, highlighted in an Taipei Times article on Jan. 16 that China’s newly appointed foreign affairs minister and director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council both have backgrounds primarily in intelligence and not the diplomatic service….