A US ambassador visits Taiwan for first time since 1979

twitter icon The US ambassador to Palau, John Hennessey-Niland, visited Taiwan on Sunday, becoming the first ambassador to visit the island since Washington cut formal diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979. Hennessey-Niland is traveling with Palau's President Surangel Whipps, who leads one of only 15 countries that diplomatically recognize Taiwan rather than Beijing. Whipps is ostensibly on a five-day trip to Taiwan to launch a new Taiwan-Palau "travel bubble," which will allow people to take trips between the two, with reduced COVID-19 restrictions. However, Hennessey-Niland's presence is a deliberate breach of long-standing diplomatic protocols, limiting contact between the US and…