China Furious Over Trump Admin Change to State Department Website: ‘Serious Regression’

China is red over what the United States does not say about Taiwan in a State Department fact sheet.

The fact sheet, which says its purpose is to summarize American relations with Taiwan, was updated on Thursday.

Gone from the fact sheet was the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence,” according to The Washington Post.

The official U.S. policy is that there is one China in theory but that in practice, Taiwan will remain an independent democracy. China claims it is the rightful government of Taiwan, to which the Nationalist government of China fled in 1949 after the Communists took power in China

The Post said the document broke new ground by using the word “coercion” in reference to China’s relations with Taiwan.

“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 State Department post said in part.

“Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, the United States makes available defense articles and services as necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability – and maintains the capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan,” the fact sheet said.

Also added was a reference to Taiwan’s partnership with a Defense Department technology and semiconductor project, according to Reuters.

The changes were brushed off in Washington as routine.

“As is routine, the fact sheet was updated to inform the general public about our unofficial relationship with Taiwan,” a State Department representative said.

China was irked and d its grievances.

“The U.S. State Department’s revision of the fact sheet on U.S.-Taiwan relations marks a serious regression in its position on Taiwan-related issues,” Guo Jiakun, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, according to the Post.

“This is yet another example of how the United States has stubbornly adhered to its wrongful policy of using Taiwan to contain China,” Guo said.

Guo demanded the Trump administration  “immediately correct this mistake,” according to NBC, and said the website change “sends a wrong signal.”

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said the revisions reflect “the close and friendly partnership between Taiwan and the United States,” according to a statement.

Last week, two U.S. Navy ships sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait that separates China from Taiwan. A Canadian warship did the same Sunday, drawing yelps of protest from China.

Taiwan has put continued military pressure on Taiwan by sending ships and planes to buzz around the island.

On Monday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said 41 Chinese military aircraft, nine Chinese naval vessels, and one “official ship” had been around the island in the past 24 hours.

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