Donal Trump on Friday tweeted that he had received a phone call from Taiwan president Ms. Tsai Ing-wen who congratulated him on winning the US elections. It is reported that Mr. Trump had also congratulated Tsai in January earlier this year when she became the first female president of Taiwan. However Trump’s direct phone talk with Taiwan has infuriated China.
This happens to be first ever direct contact between a US president or president-elect and Taiwan since the US cut all diplomatic ties with Taiwan in support to China’s ‘One Country, two systems’ concept that considers Taiwan as part of China. This decision by Mr. Trump has alarmed and angered the Beijing government.
“The split between China and Taiwan goes back to 1949, when the Republic of China (ROC) Kuomintang (KMT) government fled the mainland to Taiwan after being defeated by the communists under Mao Zedong. The KMT held China’s seat on the UN Security Council and was, for a while, recognised by many Western nations as the only Chinese government.” according to a report in BBC.
“But in 1971, the UN switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Only a handful of countries now recognise Taiwan’s government. Washington cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, expressing its support for Beijing’s “one country, two systems” concept, which states that Taiwan is part of China.” added the report.
In addition to speaking to the Taiwan president, US president-elect Mr. Trump also acknowledged that they noted “close economic, political, and security ties” exist between Taiwan and the United States.
Though China has lodged a ‘solemn representation’ with Washington, China has urged the US “to cautiously, properly handle Taiwan issue to avoid unnecessary disturbance to Sino-US relations”. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi though dismissed the call as a “petty trick” by Taiwan, an editorial also criticises Donald Trump’s lack of foreign policy experience.
China, who was working hard at trying to understand the new US president-elect, Mr. Trump, this seeming transition of US stance of Taiwan has enormously twisted the image.