Taiwan has never been a part of China,” said U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo in an interview with U.S. media on Thursday (Nov. 12). “
Pompeo gave a phone interview to radio host Hugh Hewitt on a number of major diplomatic topics. The U.S. State Department released a transcript of the interview.
In the interview, Hewitt asked about a series of measures taken by the Trump administration against the communist government of China and specifically mentioned Taiwan.
Hewitt said Pompeo has said, both as CIA director and secretary of state, that the U.S. commitment to Taiwan is clear and will be maintained. He asked Pompeo, who often talks to Democrats, “Do you believe that this is a bipartisan commitment that the Chinese Communist Party must recognize? Because the most extremist elements of the Chinese Communist Party have made the kind of crazy statements that it is necessary to use force to recover Taiwan if necessary.”
Pompeo replied, “It’s always important to get the wording right. Taiwan has never been a part of China, and that’s recognized in the policy making that was done by the Reagan administration, policies that the United States has followed for thirty-five years now, and both administrations have done so. No, I do think that it is in fact bipartisan in nature. I think the core understanding is that this is a model of democracy and that the people living in Taiwan should be respected by holding China to the promises that they have made, and I think that’s something that both parties can agree on.”
He went on to say, “I hope that this will continue for as long as the Chinese side and the Taiwanese side cannot find a solution to this problem. We should respect the commitments that were made and we have a series of obligations. You saw our announcement of arms sales to Taiwan to assist their ability to defend themselves. All of these things are designed to implement – frankly, to implement the commitments that have been made between China and the people of Taiwan.”
Washington broke diplomatic relations with Taipei and established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979. The United States has long pursued a “one-China” policy. On August 31, David R Stiwell, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, explained at a meeting of the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Network at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., that Washington’s “one-China” policy and Beijing’s “one-China principle” are the same. “Different. He said that the Chinese Communist Party claimed sovereignty over Taiwan in accordance with the “one-China principle”, while “the United States does not take a position on Taiwan sovereignty”.
Stalin explained at the time: “The fundamental interest of the United States is that the Taiwan issue must be resolved peacefully, without coercion and in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait, as promised by Beijing. At the same time the United States maintains broad, close, and friendly unofficial relations with Taipei, including a commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to assist Taiwan in self-defense.”
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