Taiwan Praises the US for Change on Independence Phrasing
Washington is Taipei’s biggest military backer, though Trump has suggested the archipelago should have to pay for protection.
Photographer: An Rong Xu/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Taipei lauded the State Department for deleting a phrase from a fact sheet saying the US does “not support Taiwan independence,” an episode that threatens to renew sparring between Washington and Beijing over the self-ruled archipelago.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung “welcomes the support and positive stance” showed by the explainer on Taiwan-US relations, his ministry said in a statement received on Monday. Taipei also thanked Washington for its “continued compliance” with a 1979 American law that lays out relations between the US and Taiwan, including provisions for supporting the democracy’s defenses.