China says US has 'gravely backpedaled' on Taiwan
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[February 17, 2025]
BEIJING (AP) — China's Foreign Ministry took issue Monday
with a revised U.S. government fact sheet that removed a line on
American opposition to independence for Taiwan.
The United States has “gravely backpedaled” on its position on Taiwan
and sent the wrong message to “separatist forces" on the island,
ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 during the civil war that brought the
communists to power in China. The defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan
and set up a rival government there. Taiwan has its own government and
military but has never declared formal independence from China.
“We urge the U.S. to ... stop emboldening and supporting Taiwan
independence and avoid further damaging China-U.S. relations and the
peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” Guo said when asked about the
revision at a daily media briefing.
The Taiwan Strait is a narrow waterway that separates the island of
Taiwan from China's east coast.
The U.S. State Department removed the phrase "we do not support Taiwan
independence” from the fact sheet last week. The document on America’s
relations with the self-governing island is posted on its website.
Taiwan's government welcomed the move, though a statement sent to The
Associated Press on Monday did not mention the language specifically.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noted that the U.S. State
Department updated the ‘Current State of U.S.-Taiwan Relations’ page ...
with text that is positive and friendly toward us, reflecting the close
and amicable partnership between Taiwan and the United States,” it said.
It’s not the first time the State Department has removed the phrase. It
did so in May 2022 but restored it a few weeks later after a strong
protest from China.
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In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan's
President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference after a security
meeting about U.S. President Trump's tariffs on trade partners and
semiconductors at the Presidential office in Taipei, Friday, Feb.
14, 2025. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP, File)
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It’s unclear why the State Department changed the language again and
whether it signals any shift in policy under President Donald Trump,
who returned to the White House last month.
The government in Taiwan is worried that Trump might not be as
steadfast a supporter of the island as his predecessor, former
President Joe Biden.
The U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as a country but is its strongest
backer and biggest arms supplier.
Trump said last week that Taiwan, a leading maker of semiconductors,
had taken the chip business away from the U.S. and that he wants it
to come back.
China, which says that Taiwan must come under its control, has
stepped up military exercises around the island of 23 million people
in recent years. The U.S. government fact sheet says that it expects
“differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion,
in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides.”
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