President Donald Trump told reporters that he would speak to Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te on Wednesday, downplaying the significance of such a conversation by adding, “I speak to everybody.”
Trump’s comment follows a visit to communist China just a week ago in which he claimed to have a positive personal relationship with genocidal dictator Xi Jinping. While the Chinese government attempted to describe Taiwan as an issue of significance in their conversations, the White House’s descriptions of the visit suggest that topics such as economic cooperation, the ongoing war with Iran, and Chinese students in American universities took priority over Taiwan.
Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, is a sovereign, democratic state off the coast of communist China. The Chinese government falsely claims Taiwan as a “province” that belongs under Beijing’s rule, disparaging its legitimate government as a rogue “separatist” entity. As a result of China’s outsized geopolitical leverage, Taiwan is routinely excluded from basic activities of normal states, such as participation in the United Nations or bilateral negotiations with almost all of the world’s countries, including America.
America’s recognition of China means that the United States does not technically recognize Taiwan as a country, a policy established by leftist former President Jimmy Carter in 1979. While Washington does sell weapons to Taiwan, no president has ever held a conversation with a Taiwanese president since Carter’s policy went into effect. The closest contact between a Taiwanese and an American leader occurred in 2016, when then-President Tsai Ing-wen held a phone conversation with President Trump, who at the time had yet to be inaugurated into the presidency.
Trump suggested on Wednesday that he could soon hold a conversation with Lai, Tsai’s successor, but offered no details.
“I’ll speak to him,” he said when asked while preparing to board Air Force One. “I speak to everybody… We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.”
Reuters cited a “person familiar” with the situation on Wednesday who said that no concrete plans for such a conversation had been formalized yet.
Lai issued a speech in Taipei on Wednesday defending the existence of his country and rejecting any foreign interference, first and foremost from China.
“Taiwan’s future cannot be decided by forces outside our borders, nor can it be held hostage by fear, division, or short-term gain. Taiwan’s future must be determined together by our 23 million people,” he said, according to the Taipei Times. “True peace can only be secured through strength.”
Lai was asked what he would say to Trump if he had the opportunity to speak to him.
“My government is committed to maintaining the status quo, and Taiwan is also a guardian of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he responded. “Second, China is the one undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
The Taipei Times observed that Trump last year approved $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, a record high sum that indicated high support for the country. Trump has since suggested that any future sales to Taiwan would depend on America’s relationship with both Taipei and Beijing. He noted that he has yet to approve pending weapons sales to the country, telling Fox News, “I’m holding that in abeyance, and it depends on China. It depends. It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly.”
“I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,” Trump added.
Following that interview, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene told Channel News Asia that Trump’s comment that he would discuss the situation with China did not represent a change in the status quo between Taipei and Washington.
“This policy, which consists of the Three Communiqués, the Taiwan Relations Act, and the Six Assurances, has been consistent across U.S. administrations from both parties and has ensured peace across the Taiwan Strait for nearly five decades,” Greene was quoted as saying.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted with outrage on Thursday when asked about Trump’s openness to speaking with Lai, reiterating its false claims to the island nation and scolding Trump for sending “wrong messages” to the Taiwanese government.
“China’s opposition to any official exchanges between the U.S. and China’s Taiwan region, and the U.S.’s arms sales to Taiwan is consistent, clear, and rock-firm,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun asserted. “China urges the U.S. to implement the important common understandings between our two leaders… stop sending any wrong message to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, and safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
The Foreign Ministry separately responded to Lai’s speech on Wednesday, insulting the president as a “saboteur of peace” with an “ugly true nature.” Guo, the spokesman, declared that recognizing the reality that Taiwan is a country is “incompatible with peace.”
“The ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces [the legitimate Taiwanese government] are the biggest destroyer of the current status quo in the Taiwan Straits and the greatest source of turbulence for peace and stability in the region,” he added.
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