Health Secretary Azar to Visit Taiwan, Highest-Level US Official to Visit in 4 Decades

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar speaks after a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington on June 26, 2020. Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

TAIPEI, Taiwan—U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar announced that he will lead a delegation to visit Taiwan in the coming days.

The trip is politically significant given that it will be the highest-level visit by a U.S. Cabinet member since 1979—the year the United States severed official diplomatic ties with the island in recognition of Beijing.