President Tsai Ing-wen (???) on Thursday awarded a special honor to visiting former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in recognition of his contributions to promoting closer ties between Washington and Taipei during his tenure.

During the ceremony, Pompeo, who served as his country’s top diplomat under former President Donald Trump, was conferred with the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon, as Tsai called him a close friend of Taiwan while expressing her deep gratitude on behalf of the Taiwanese people.

In her address, Tsai praised Pompeo’s groundbreaking measures in lifting U.S. State Department restrictions on how U.S. officials interact with Taiwanese counterparts due to the absence of official ties, as well as facilitating high-level American officials to visit Taiwan, during his tenure.

Due to his repeated, public support for Taiwan, Pompeo has enjoyed high popularity in the country, according to Tsai.

In receiving the order, Pompeo thanked Tsai and the people of Taiwan, who said he had come to know as “a noble, and caring, and loving and freedom-demanding people.”

In response to Tsai’s praise over his decision to end restrictions on exchanges between two countries’ diplomats, Pompeo said it was a “simple, right and proper” decision to make.

The decision to lift these restrictions was not partisan or political but represented “American commitments,” Pompeo said, adding that it had been in his country’s best interests and in the interest of securing and building on the friendship between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel