Trump, Taiwan Put China on the Defensive with Historic Phone Call

“Meanwhile, Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Donald Trump’s phone call with Taiwan’s leader on Friday was a “courtesy call” and does not necessarily reflect a shift in US policy”.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Trump’s conversation does not signal any change to long-standing US policy on cross-strait issues.

Senior Donald Trump adviser Kellyannce Conway appeared today on Fox News Sunday, where she took questions over the president-elect’s call with Taiwan and the diplomatic controversy it has created.

The Chinese government views Taiwan simply as a rogue state, and has insisted on a “one-China” policy as part of its diplomatic dealings with other nations. He told host Chuck Todd that he “wouldn’t expect” a call this week, either.

On Friday, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met with China’s President Xi Jinping, the South China Morning Post reported. President-elect Donald Trump congratulated the Taiwan leader for her Presidential win that occurred earlier in the year, which marked a historical event in Taiwan.

“It will be for the President-elect to decide whether he implements that policy after the inauguration”, Mr Pence said.

He noted Trump has had more than 50 calls with foreign leaders.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence offered similar comments today, suggesting that the conversation shouldn’t be seen as anything more than a “courtesy call”.

Taiwanese people will cheer the contact with Trump because they normally lack high-level contact with the United States, said Alexander Chiang, associate professor of worldwide politics with National Chengchi University in Taipei.

But Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway did say last week that Trump does consult with briefing materials provided by the State Department.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, has warned that the issue of unification can not be put off indefinitely.

The telephone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and United States president-elect Donald Trump has put Beijing – still preoccupied with adjusting to the prospect of a Trump administration – in a predicament that has so far exceeded Beijing’s ability to react.

Taiwan’s presidential office spokesman, Alex Huang, said separately that Taiwan’s relations with China and “healthy” Taiwan-U.S. relations can proceed in parallel.

“It was just a phone call”, she argued.

On Friday, Trump tweeted that he had spoken to the “president of Taiwan”, who had called “to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency”.

Perhaps this kind of hawkish treatment of China’s government (if that’s what this was) is overdue, but when countries put one another on the defensive like this, it can have risky consequences.

“America has always been a champion of democratic values and individual freedoms, and I applaud the President-elect for making a strong statement in support of those values around the world”, Salmon told The Hill.

Washington cut formal diplomatic relations with the island in 1979 and recognizes Beijing as the sole government of “One China” – while keeping friendly, non-official ties with Taipei.

What happens next will hinge on whether the call is seen as a “complicated accident” or an intentional signal of new policy, Paal said.

The Global Times added targeting him would be inappropriate since he is not yet president.

“We urge the relevant parties in the U.S.to abide by the commitment to the one-China policy” and “to handle Taiwan-related issues with caution and care to avoid unnecessarily interfering with the overall situation of Sino-U.S. relations”, a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Responding to a question, Pence said Trump was very clear during the course of the campaign that the U.S. has just been losing to China far too long economically.