US urges China to halt Taiwan threats, presses for open dialogue

The top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan has called on Beijing to abandon its threats and military maneuvers against the island, urging instead for open communication with Taiwan's elected leaders. Speaking in Taipei, Raymond Greene, the de facto U.S. ambassador as head of the American Institute in Taiwan, stressed that dialogue, not coercion, would stabilize cross-strait relations. He labeled diplomacy as critical to avoiding misunderstandings in a region teetering under tensions exacerbated by China's