08 Aug 2004 13:51 UTC
The Taiwan's foreign ministry said Sunday the U.S. State Department has apologized for the violation of protocol, which occurred when envoy David Lee first arrived at Washington's Dulles airport on July 23.
Security officials at the airport insisted on fingerprinting the envoy despite his protests and an attempted intervention by William Brown, the acting chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan.
The Institute has handled U.S. exchanges with Taiwan since the United States switched its official recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.
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The newly appointed Taiwanese envoy to the United States was fingerprinted on his arrival in Washington.
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New U.S. security measures implemented in May require that most foreign visitors be fingerprinted and photographed on entry. But an agreement between Washington and Taipei should have exempted Mr. Lee from the process.