China criticized the U.S. State Department for edits that were made to its website that favored Taiwan and went against the "one-China" principle.
The State Department recently edited its website to remove claims that Taiwan was a part of China and that the United States does not support Taiwanese independence, Reuters reported.
Asked about the changes, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded, "There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory." He went on to claim that the website edits showing more support for a free Taiwan were antithetical to the U.S. policy in practice, and would only hurt the U.S.
"The U.S.’ latest modification of the fact sheet is a trick to obscure and write off the one-China principle," the spokesman said "Such political manipulation of the Taiwan question and the attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait will hurt the U.S. itself. The US should abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three joint communiqués, follow through with the political commitments on the Taiwan question it made to China, and fulfill President Biden’s statement that the US does not support 'Taiwan independence' with real actions. It should stop engaging in political manipulation of Taiwan-related issues and containing China with the Taiwan question."
The United States Senate has been moving to increase support for Taiwan, as evidenced by the recently passed United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) on March 28. The vote amended some of the portions of the bill that was first passed by the House and was then sent to the Senate for approval. There is expected to be a conference to reconcile differences, but regardless the bill takes an aggressive stance against China and would make the US more competitive against China, bolstering U.S.-Taiwan relations.
