Posted on 12/02/2016 3:14:03 PM PST by mandaladon
President-elect Donald Trump spoke with the president of Taiwan by phone on Friday, in a move likely to infuriate Beijing and hinder US-China relations.
"President-elect Trump spoke with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, who offered her congratulations," according to a readout of the call released by Trump's transition team.
"During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties" between Taiwan and the United States, the statement continued. "President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming President of Taiwan earlier this year."
The call, first reported by the Financial Times, is the first time a US president has directly spoken with Taiwan's leadership in more than 30 years.
The US suspended formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 after establishing a One China position — which states that "there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China" — in an effort to establish diplomatic channels with Beijing.
Beijing views Taiwan as a province of China, whereas Taiwan — which has its own democratically elected government — has a more complicated view of the nations' relationship.
Ing-wen, who was elected the first female president of Taiwan in May, told The Washington Post over the summer that she hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping "can appreciate that Taiwan is a democratic society in which the leader has to follow the will of the people."
Analysts were quick to point out that the phone call will likely infuriate Beijing.
"Trump has phone call w Taiwan President, 1st by US Pres or Pres-elect since 1979," goepolitical expert Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, tweeted on Friday. "Beijing will be absolutely incensed."
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
How does your comment relate to this topic?
“China and Taiwain have been two countries for 69 years.”
A lot longer than that. Taiwan was claimed as a Qing Dynasty Province for ten years in the 19th century. That’s it.
Was never a province of or part of the PRC or the ROC.
I hope Trump contacts Japan soon as well. That will really really give the CHICOMs a hissy fit.
Trump just tweeted that it was Taiwan president that called HIM to congratulate him. (Not the other way around)
Trump is creating leverage for later negotiations with China. Taiwan is a perfect point at which to apply a little pressure.
I just took a look at some of the stuff people are tweeting at him. A lot o lunatics in this country.
Trump is essentially telling them that if they want to screw America by using foreign slave labor and then trying to get those of us who have been screwed to enrich them by buying their products, that they are going to have to pay a very high price in return to enjoy access to our consumer market. I see nothing wrong with that, and in fact when you consider our consumer market to be a product like any other then I fail to see how Trump's approach doesn't simply represent a free market, equitable exchange. If they feel the price of accessing our markets is too high, then they are free to go sell their crap somewhere else, like oh, Botswana.
OR....if they don't like that arrangement, they can instead bring their manufacturing back to the U.S. (once onerous regulations and taxes have been fixed) and stop this race to the bottom of searching for the poorest people on the planet to manufacture everything.
Not quite the way it happened. The communists won the Chinese civil war in the 1940’s and set up the People’s Republic of China on the Asian mainland. The U.S.-backed anti-communist forces and people retreated to Taiwan and declared the Republic of China on the island of Formosa (Taiwan). America rejected the P.R.C. and recognized R.O.C. (Taiwan) after the former’s victory in the Chinese civil war and signed a defense treaty with it. For years, America tried to pretend the 750,000,000 strong mainland wasn’t real. The P.R.C. immediately began trying to conquer the far smaller R.O.C. by attacking it. During the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, Eisenhower’s administration threatened the P.R.C. with nuclear attack if it didn’t cease. The P.R.C. attacked R.O.C. again during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. Eisenhower sent the new Sidwinder missile to R.O.C. and the P.R.C.’s Soviet-made MiG’s were swept from the skies, allowing the R.O.C. to achieve air superiority, thus ensuring their survival. The P.R.C. again tried to threaten the R.O.C. in 1996 with a big show of force and mobilizing forces. Bill Clinton ordered the U.S. Navy to send an aircraft carrier battle group through the Taiwan Strait and one other to remain offshore Taiwan. The P.R.C. backed down again admitting it could not stop the U.S. from coming to Taiwan’s defense.
The U.S. has put itself at considerable risk by continuing to support Taiwan’s fragile democracy and selling it vast quantities of weaponry. We are essentially ensuring Taiwan’s survival. We’ve hardly thrown Taiwan under the bus.
Nixon recognized the P.R.C. because you cannot ignore a huge nation like that. They knew that vast China would not remain weak. After China tested a nuclear bomb, it became clear the U.S. position of pretending it did not exist became untenable.
Trump is a private citizen UNTIL and ONLY until, the electoral college electors vote FOR him to be POTUS. Just sayin’ But I DO love the way the term President Elect is being applied, just as Soebarkah’s team quickly began to use the term, lo so many moons ago.
GREAT!
Pissing off dictators is always good.
The chinese aren’t use to a man leading the USA since the days of Reagan.
And it's a GIRL dragon too! < /1st Shrek movie >
It was a couple of weeks ago that the President of Japan hopped on a jet to NY for a meeting with Trump.
Seriously, it’s not like we were engaged. Not even going steady. The Chicoms will just have to get over it.
Surely they must know that everything this guy does is planned multiple steps ahead. It may seem difficult to a pot-head drop out like BHO, but to any functioning intelligent person it's pretty straightforward.
Trump ran on, and is in the process of supporting (before he's even sworn in), the foundational premise of nationalism. Not just for the US, but every other nation state that desires self determination.
China can be a friend, a reliable trading partner with the US, but that doesn't mean the US won't continue to support countries that reflect our national interest.
To get back to the feigned outrage, I'm convinced it's just a ploy to appeal to a base and the directed advertisements targeted at people who oppose Trump for whatever particular reason.
President George W. Bush did a lot of good; certainly better than the others.
Quite right - that many creative minds and that much labor - it’s a significant nation. And your comment was absolutely apropos given the prior posts....
Nixon recognized the P.R.C. because you cannot ignore a huge nation like that
While perhaps true, it overlooks the fact that part of 'recognizing' the PRC included, for all practical purposes, ignoring Taiwan in the bargain.
We have no embassy in Taiwan, and it's very name has been erased for all practical purposes.
It was, imho, a poor bargain and a slap in the face to the Taiwanese, future arms supplies or no.
Bill Clinton ordered the U.S. Navy to send an aircraft carrier battle group through the Taiwan Strait and one other to remain offshore Taiwan.
Perhaps some FReepers who might have been part of that exercise can weigh in with further insight, but until hearing authoritatively to the contrary, I'll never believe that that creature would have ever authorized a set of ROEs that meant a damn.
Jim, maybe you'd care to jump into this ?
In the meantime, there's some damned good college football on tonight that I'd rather not miss.
And if it turns out that I shot a little too quickly from the hip, it won't have been the first time.
Tho it matters not in the end, as there's no danger of Pres.Trump nominating me for a Pacific Theater policy post ;-)
“Trump just tweeted that it was Taiwan president that called HIM to congratulate him. (Not the other way around)”
Aha! Two astute presidents!
I don’t know but it was a great liberty port back in the late 60’s. Did R&R there 3 times on two different destroyers. My older brother was on a carrier (the Kearsage CVA33) in the 50’s and they patroled the Formosa Straits to defend the Chinese Nationalist government on Taiwan From the commies.
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