China has called on the United States to “correct its mistakes” after a statement that Washington does not support an independent Taiwan was removed from the state department website.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to unify with the self-ruled island one day.
The United States does not diplomatically recognise Taiwan but remains its main security backer and last week removed a line from a state department fact sheet that stated: “We do not support Taiwan independence.”
The fact sheet retains Washington’s opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China. But the page added a reference to Taiwan’s cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project and says the US will support Taiwan’s membership in international organisations “where applicable”.
Taipei hailed the move as “positive and friendly” while Washington’s de facto embassy on the island described it as “routine” – but the language used to describe US-Taiwan relations is highly sensitive and has provoked an angry response in China.
A spokesperson for Beijing’s Taiwan affairs office said on Monday that the change “sends seriously wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and will only damage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.
“We urge the US side to … correct its mistakes and prudently handle the Taiwan issue,” spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said in a statement.
“No matter how much Taiwan and the US collude and scheme with each other, they will never be able to change the fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of it,” she said.
The update to the website came roughly three weeks after Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term in the White House.
Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taipei in recent years, luring away its political allies and holding vast military drills around the island.
The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
“As is routine, the fact sheet was updated to inform the general public about our unofficial relationship with Taiwan,” said a state department spokesperson.
“The United States is committed to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the spokesperson said.
Trump’s return has roiled the delicate diplomatic balance, with Taiwanese leaders seeking to get onside with his transactional worldview.
Trump has frayed nerves by suggesting Taiwan should pay the United States for protection and by blaming the island for the woes of the American chip industry.
