The fact sheet on Taiwan posted on the United States Department of State website has removed statements saying that the U.S government acknowledges China’s claims to Taiwan and did not support the Island state’s independence, as reported by Chinese media.
The website was updated on May 5 by the State department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, with the previous version stating, “The United States and Taiwan enjoy a robust unofficial relationship” and that the U.s government acknowledged “the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China,” and the U.S. “does not support Taiwan independence.”
However, in the new version, the understanding of China’s policy on Taiwan and the statement on not supporting Taiwanese independence has been removed. Instead, it now begins, “As a leading democracy and a technological powerhouse, Taiwan is a key U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific.”
The new version still acknowledges that the Taiwan and U.S. cooperation is unofficial, saying that the U.S. “has a longstanding one-China policy guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three US-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.”
Instead of not supporting Taiwan’s independence, the fact sheet now says the U.S. encourages a peaceful resolution to differences between Taipei and Beijing that is “consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people in Taiwan.”
Asked to comment Tuesday on the updates and why they were made, Ed Dunn, a spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), representing U.S. interests in Taiwan, sidestepped the questions.
He merely reiterated the U.S. stance on Taiwan by saying that Washington’s “one China” policy has been guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances for over four decades.
“Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” he said.
The United States, he said, is committed to deepening unofficial relations with Taiwan, which he described as a leading democracy and a critical economic and security partner of the U.S.
Citing AIT’s statement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesperson Joanne Ou said Tuesday that the U.S. government has announced that its policy toward Taiwan has not changed.
She said that Taiwan will continue to deepen relations with the U.S. and enhance its self-defense capabilities and its freedom and democratic system to promote cross-strait peace and security.
Meanwhile, Yeh Yao-yuan, chair of International Studies & Modern Languages at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, wrote on his Facebook page that the updates to the fact sheet signify a “striking warming of relations” between the two countries, mainly due to growing tensions between the U.S. and China.
Even though the U.S. still upheld its one-China policy and strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan, Yeh said the U.S. is now seeing Taiwan more as an essential economic, security, and democratic partner and is more open to Taiwanese making their own decision about their future.
(Staff Reporter)
A screenshot of the new Taiwan fact sheet on the U.S State Department website. (File)
