The Chinese Foreign Ministry challenged a revised American government information sheet on Monday which abolished a line on the American opposition to the independence of Taiwan.
The United States has “severely fell” back on its position to Taiwan and sent the wrong message to the “separatist forces” on the island, said ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.
Taiwan and China separated in 1949 during the civil war which brought the communists to power in China. The defeated nationalists fled in Taiwan and establish a rival government there. Taiwan has its own government and military but has never declared a formal independence from China.
“We urge the United States to … stop encouraging and supporting Taiwan’s independence and avoiding more harmful to the relations of China-US and peace and the stability of the Taiwan Strait,” said Guo When he was asked about the revision during a daily press briefing.
The Taiwan Strait is a narrow navigable route that separates Taiwan island from the East Chinese coast.
The American State Department deleted the expression “We do not support the independence of Taiwan” from the information sheet last week. The document on American relations with the autonomous island is published on its website.
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The Taiwan government welcomed this decision, although a declaration sent to the Associated Press on Monday did not mention the language specifically.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the US State Department has updated the page” State State of Us-Taiwan Relations “… with a positive and friendly text towards us, reflecting the near and friendly partnership between Taiwan and the United States, “he said.
This is not the first time that the State Department has removed the sentence. He did it in May 2022, but restored it a few weeks later after a strong protest from China.
We do not know why the State Department changed the language again and if it signals a change of policy under President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House last month.
The Taiwan government fears that Trump is not as firmly supported by the island as his predecessor, former president Joe Biden.
The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a country but is its donor and the largest supplier of weapons.
Trump said last week that Taiwan, one of the main semiconductor manufacturers, had removed the activity of flea in the United States and that he wanted him to come back.
China, which says that Taiwan must be under its control, has intensified military exercises around the island of 23 million people in recent years. The US government’s information sheet says that it expects “differences to be resolved by peaceful means, without coercion, in an acceptable manner for people on both sides.”
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press
