The US would maintain its stance on Taiwan and oppose any unilateral move to alter the “status quo,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Monday after a Wall Street Journal report suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) plans to press US President Donald Trump to formally oppose Taiwanese independence.
“Our position on Taiwan has not changed,” the spokesperson said in response to media queries from Taiwan.
“We remain committed to our one China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three US-China Joint Communiques and the six assurances to Taiwan. The United States is committed to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Photo: Reuters
Repeating the department’s viewpoint published in the article, the spokesperson said that “China’s actions continue to present the single greatest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday reported that “Xi is no longer satisfied with the US position adopted by the administration of [former US] president Joe Biden, in which Washington ‘does not support’ Taiwan independence,” and intends to urge Trump to formally declare that the US “opposes” Taiwanese independence.
The piece, written by Wei Lingling (魏玲靈), bases its claims on “people familiar with the matter.”
“For Xi, the difference between not supporting Taiwan’s independence and explicitly opposing it is more than semantics,” the article said. “It would signal a shift in US policy from a neutral position to one that actively aligns with Beijing against Taiwanese sovereignty — a change that could further cement Xi’s hold on power at home.”
The report said that Xi believes he can persuade Trump to alter the US’ policy because Beijing thinks the US president is eager to reach an economic accord with China.
The two leaders plan to meet at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea and might hold additional meetings, including a Trump visit to Beijing early next year and a Xi visit to the US in December next year, the report said.
Whether Trump travels to China would depend on Beijing’s cooperation on trade and its efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl precursors, it said.
Xi is expected to “use every chance he gets with Trump to press the American leader to adopt a firm stance against Taiwanese independence,” it added.
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