The State Department dropped wording from its website regarding U.S. opposition to Taiwan’s independence from China, possibly foreshadowing a hawkish shift in U.S. policy toward China.
The department previously said, “We do not support Taiwan independence.” The new language, first reported on Sunday by Taiwan’s Central News Agency, does express support for a continuation of the status quo, in which Taiwan operates independently with U.S. support but without formal U.S. recognition of its status as a sovereign nation.
“We continue to have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” reads the fact sheet posted Thursday. “We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.”
The website update prompted praise from Taiwan, whose Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said his ministry “welcomed the support and positive stance on U.S.-Taiwan relations demonstrated in the relevant content” of the website. It also drew criticism from China.
Chinese Foreign Minister Guo Jiakun accused the U.S. of “serious regression” regarding its position on Taiwan.
“We urge the U.S. to . . . stop emboldening and supporting Taiwan independence and avoid further damaging China-U.S. relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” Guo said.
Taiwan never formally declared independence from China after the two split in 1949 during the civil war between the communists and nationalists. The latter group fled to Taiwan where a democratic government was eventually established.
Tensions between China and Taiwan have risen in recent years, demonstrated by an increasing number of Chinese fighter jets and vessels circling the island.
In 2022, the Biden-era State Department also removed the phrase signaling U.S. opposition to Taiwan’s independence but restored the language a month later following pushback from China. The country’s stance on the issue was made even more clear after former President Joe Biden said last year that the U.S. does not support Taiwan’s independence, despite Taiwanese voters wanting to be free.
Though it does not recognize Taiwan as its own sovereign country, the U.S. remains its biggest backer and arms supplier.
The Taiwanese government hopes to find a stronger ally in the new administration. While President Donald Trump blamed Taiwan last week for stealing U.S. stake in the semiconductor chip industry, and threatened 100 percent tariffs on semiconductors made in Taiwan, his administration has offered strong support in other areas.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for example, is a longtime proponent of increased U.S.-Taiwan ties. During his Senate confirmation hearing last month, he called for the U.S. to help strengthen Taiwan’s military defenses in the hopes of preventing a Chinese invasion of the island.
“We need to wrap our head around the fact that unless something dramatic changes, like an equilibrium [between China and Taiwan] where they conclude that the costs of intervening in Taiwan are too high, we’re going to have to deal with this before the end of this decade,” Rubio said.
In response to Trump’s tariff threat, Taiwan pledged to communicate more with the White House and invest more in the U.S.