London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Is China next? US State Department site deletes 'Taiwan is part of China'

Is China next? US State Department site deletes 'Taiwan is part of China'

The U.S. State Department updated the U.S.-Taiwan relations webpage, no longer mentioning "Taiwan is part of China" and "The U.S. does not support Taiwan independence"

The U.S. State Department last week changed the wording on its U.S.-Taiwan relations page to delete reference to Taiwan as being part of China and removed a statement disavowing Taiwan independence.

As May 3, the U.S. State Department fact sheet on bilateral relations with Taiwan stated that like the 1972 Shanghai Communique, the 1979 U.S.-P.R.C. Joint Communique severing ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing, acknowledged the "Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China." The fact sheet was dated Aug. 31, 2018 during the Trump administration.

In addition, the webpage stated the U.S. "does not support Taiwan independence." In July of last year, the White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell said that the U.S. supports a strong "unofficial relationship" with Taiwan but that "we do not support Taiwan independence."


In November last year, President Joe Biden could be clearly heard saying to reporters "it's independent. It makes its own decisions," in reference to Taiwan. This statement quickly generated controversy because the U.S. has never officially stated its stance on whether it considers Taiwan to be an independent nation or not.

One hour later, a reporter asked Biden to clarify if U.S. policy had changed since he used the word "independence" when describing Taiwan. Biden denied that his comment meant recognition of Taiwan independence and said that it meant "They have to decide — Taiwan, not us. We are not encouraging independence."

On May 5 of this year, the State Department created a new version of the U.S.-Taiwan relations fact sheet. In this new version, reference to the 1979 joint communique has been greatly diminished in a statement that simply points out that the U.S. 'one China' policy is "guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances."

A sentence that had stated the U.S. "does not support Taiwan independence" has been completely removed. A new sentence has been added that acknowledges that although the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, "we have a robust unofficial relationship as well as an abiding interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

It is not immediately clear if these modifications represent a change in the U.S. 'one China' policy and stance on Taiwan's sovereignty. The State Department has yet to respond to a request for comment on the fact sheet changes.



Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×