On January 9, 2021, Mike Pompeo announced that he will lift the United States' self-imposed restrictions on contact with Taiwan. In his press statement, he said the following:

Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and reliable partner of the United States, and yet for several decades the State Department has created complex internal restrictions to regulate our diplomats, servicemembers, and other officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts. The United States government took these actions unilaterally, in an attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing. No more.

Today I am announcing that I am lifting all of these self-imposed restrictions.  Executive branch agencies should consider all “contact guidelines” regarding relations with Taiwan previously issued by the Department of State under authorities delegated to the Secretary of State to be null and void.

Additionally, any and all sections of the Foreign Affairs Manual or Foreign Affairs Handbook that convey authorities or otherwise purport to regulate executive branch engagement with Taiwan via any entity other than the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) are also hereby voided. The executive branch‘s relations with Taiwan are to be handled by the non-profit AIT, as stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act.

The United States government maintains relationships with unofficial partners around the world, and Taiwan is no exception. Our two democracies share common values of individual freedom, the rule of law, and a respect for human dignity. Today’s statement recognizes that the U.S.-Taiwan relationship need not, and should not, be shackled by self-imposed restrictions of our permanent bureaucracy.

This is a significant development among U.S.-Taiwan relations and likely the last one before Joe Biden is sworn in as the new POTUS. While not explicitly calling Taiwan a sovereign state, Mike Pompeo's statement has basically described the island as such. Under the Trump administration, Donald Trump has signed bills like the Taiwan Travel Act and the TAIPEI Act into law. These acts have allowed high-ranking U.S. officials to visit Taiwan and vice versa as well as give the island more leverage in participating in international affairs. This is very important to Taiwan as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been trying to isolate it internationally.

While Mike Pompeo's statement, Taiwan Travel Act, and the TAIPEI Act are the most the U.S. has done for Taiwan in a long while, whether the Biden administration will continue that momentum is uncertain. In fact, there are concerns of Joe Biden being too lenient on the CCP. For instance, when Trump imposed travel restrictions on China on January 31, Biden accused him for xenophobia and fear-mongering the next day on Twitter. There is also the controversy with Hunter Biden and his business dealings in China. Whether the federal criminal tax investigation will yield any definitive results remains to be seen. However, it is impossible to not worry if these factors will damage U.S.-Taiwan relations.