US Changes Wording Regarding Taiwan’s Independence, China Condemns Washington’s Action – OpEd

A Taiwan-United States relations fact sheet published on the U.S. State Department website has recently updated its contents to remove a line indicating Washington’s long-held stance of not supporting Taiwanese independence, the Focus Taiwan CNA newspaper reported.

The fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the U.S. opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.”

However, in the updated version published on Feb.13, the line stating that the U.S. does not support Taiwan’s independence had been removed.

The updated paragraph now reads: “We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.”

Meanwhile, the fact sheet updated the U.S.’ approach to supporting Taiwan’s international participation.

Previously, in the section on Taiwan’s Role in the International Community, the fact sheet said Washington “will continue to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement and encourage Taiwan’s meaningful participation in organizations where its membership is not possible.”

The Feb. 13 version of the section now does not mention statehood, saying only that the U.S. “will continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including membership where applicable.”

Since ending official relations with Taiwan (the Republic of China) and switching diplomatic recognition to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1979, the U.S. government has continually reiterated its position of not supporting Taiwanese independence.

The last time the same fact sheet cut the lines on the U.S. not supporting Taiwanese independence was in May 2022 under former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration. But the line was later reinstated about a month later following protests from the PRC, which considers Taiwan as part of its territory.

According to the BBC news agency, the U.S. move has sparked anger in China.

China said the revision “sends a wrong… signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwan independence”, and asked the U.S. to “correct its mistakes”.

The department’s fact sheet on Taiwan-U.S. relations earlier included the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” – this was removed last week as part of what it said was a “routine” update.

A U.S. spokesperson was quoted as saying that it remains committed to the “One China” policy, it said, where U.S. recognises and has formal ties with China rather than Taiwan.

According to the BBC, China sees self-governed Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.

Taiwan considers itself an independent and democratic country while China considers it a renegade province.

But many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation, although most are in favour of maintaining the status quo where Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

As well as dropping the phrase, the factsheet, which was updated recently, also says the U.S. will support Taiwan’s membership in international organisations “where applicable”.

Commenting on the changes, a spokesperson at the American Institute in Taiwan – the U.S.’ de facto embassy on the island – told local media that the fact sheet had been “updated to inform the general public about [the U.S.’] unofficial relationship with Taiwan”.

“We have long stated that we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side.”

On Feb. 16, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the U.S. for what he called “positive, Taiwan-friendly wordings”.

But in their regular press conference on Feb. 17, Beijing’s foreign ministry slammed the move, calling the revision a “serious regression” in the U.S.’ stance on Taiwan.

“This sends a wrong and serious signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwan independence and is another example of the U.S. stubbornly persisting with its wrong policy of using Taiwan to contain China,” the BBC reported quoting  Chinese spokesperson Guo Jiakun as saying.

“We urge the U.S. to immediately correct its mistakes [and] earnestly adhere to the One China principle.”

According to the Taipei Times newspaper, the Canadian naval frigate HMCS Ottawa transited through the Taiwan Strait recently, days after two U.S. ships also transited the Strait, the Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

It was the first time this year and the sixth time since Canada launched its Indo-Pacific Strategy in 2022 that Canadian warships have transited the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said in a news release, thanking Canada for taking concrete actions to safeguard freedom of navigation, peace and openness of the Strait.

The action demonstrated Canada’s firm stance to maintain the Taiwan Strait’s legal status as international waters, and its determination to protect peace and stability in the Strait, it added.

Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an international consensus and of common interest, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said on Feb. 17 as he welcomed top diplomats from the U.S., Japan and South Korea reiterating in a joint statement the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya and South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul on Feb.15 held their first meeting following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Following their meeting, the U.S. Department of State released a “Joint Statement on the Trilateral United States – Japan – Republic of Korea Meeting in Munich.”

The statement, according to the Taipei Times, said that the secretary and foreign ministers “emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community.”

“They encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues and opposed any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the status quo,” it said, adding that “they expressed support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations.”

The statement also said they “emphasized their commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and ensuring international law prevails.”

Rubio, Iwaya and Cho “reaffirmed their commitment to upholding shared principles, including respect for democracy, sovereignty and the rule of law” and “made clear they stand shoulder to shoulder against any effort to destabilize democratic institutions, economic independence and global security.”

In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in a news release cited Lin as saying that the ministry welcomes and thanks the three top diplomats for jointly reiterating their support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and their opposition to any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the “status quo.”