US “Taiwan Independence” Amendment Angers China
The U.S. State Department has angered China by removing a statement from its website that Washington does not support Taiwan’s independence.
China said the review “sends the wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence‘ separatist forces” and called on the United States to “correct its mistakes.”
Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Taiwan-U.S. relations included the statement “We do not support Taiwan independence,” but the statement was deleted last week, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was a “routine” update.
Xinhua News Agency quoted a U.S. spokesman as saying that the United States still adheres to the “one China” policy, that is, the United States recognizes and maintains formal relations with China but not with Taiwan.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually become part of China and does not rule out the use of force to achieve this goal.
But many Taiwanese see themselves as part of an independent country, although most want to maintain the status quo, that is, Taiwan neither declares independence nor joins China.
In addition to deleting the sentence, the fact sheet updated last Thursday also said that the United States will support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations “where appropriate.”
In response to the changes, a spokesman for the American Institute in Taiwan (the de facto US embassy in Taiwan) told local media that the fact sheet had been “updated to keep the public informed of the unofficial relationship (between the US and Taiwan)”.
“We have always stressed that we oppose any unilateral change of the status quo by any party.”
On Sunday, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Jialong thanked the US for what he called its “positive and friendly attitude towards Taiwan”.
But China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the move at a regular press conference on Monday, calling the review a “serious reversal” of the US position on Taiwan.
“This sends a serious wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and is another example of the US’s stubborn pursuit of the wrong policy of using Taiwan to contain China,” said Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
“We urge the US to correct its mistakes immediately and truly abide by the one-China principle.”
