
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Chinese officials are furious over the US State Department’s recent change to an online fact sheet regarding Washington’s relationship with Taiwan. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A summary which previously referred to Taiwan as a part of China without its own government and explicitly denounced support for its independence now describes the island nation as a &#8220;leading democracy,” a “technological powerhouse,” and a “key US partner in the Indo-Pacific.” ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The text goes on to highlight the US and Taiwan’s shared values, strong economic ties, and “people-to-people” relationships and finishes by vowing to help &#8216;maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait&#8217; in part by assisting the island with its defensive capabilities. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The update also added a reference to the ;<em>Six Assurances</em>, a set of promises made to Taiwan in 1982 by former US President Robert Reagan. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The change has been widely interpreted as indicating a policy shift, though officials claim otherwise. ;</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“That fact sheet has not been updated in years,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price. “You know that our fact sheets are regularly updated. I think we care most about ensuring that our relationships around the world are reflected accurately in our fact sheets.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Chinese officials immediately condemned the update, which Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian described as a “petty act of fictionalizing and hollowing out the one-China principle,” and sent 18 jets screaming into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The ADIZ is an area more expansive than Taiwan’s official airspace that is patrolled in order to give the island more time to respond to an attack. ;Taipei scrambled aircraft to meet the Chinese incursion, which included bombers, fighters, and anti-submarine aircraft. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Beijing said the exercise was designed to ‘test and improve combat capability’ but was also a direct response to ‘wrong signals’ from US.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;The US bad actions and tricks are completely futile and very dangerous. Those who play with fire will burn themselves,&#8221; said Shi Yilu, a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">China also sent 100 sorties from its Liaoning aircraft carrier towards Okinawa, a Japanese island near Taiwan that is home to a US military base.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“They’re testing out the endurance and capacity [of the Liaoning], and the last few cruises were testing things such as underway replenishment and endurance,” explained Taiwanese military consultant ;Liao “Kitsch” Yen-fan.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Meanwhile, the ;US continues to conduct freedom of navigation patrols through the Taiwan Strait and has sent at least two Navy warships to the area this month. ;China claims the presence of US ships in the Taiwan Strait means Washington supports secessionist forces in Taiwan.</em></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">—</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Taiwan split from China in 1949 during a Communist takeover and has been fighting for independence ever since. China claims ownership of the island and demands reunification even at the price of military conflict. China has not denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an event that has significantly escalated tensions between China and Taiwan but has strengthened the island’s relationship with the US.<br>“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not the first time an authoritarian regime invaded its neighbor and, unfortunately, it won’t be the last,” warned Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), who recently introduced a bill to fast-track weapons sales to Taiwan and improve joint military training programs. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;We&#8217;re going to start making China pay a greater price for what they are doing all over the world,&#8221; added Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who led a small delegation of US lawmakers to Ukraine earlier this month to meet with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen. &#8220;We will stand with you.&#8221;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Sources:</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china-slams-us-changing-taiwan-wording-state-department-website-2022-05-10/">China rebukes US for changing Taiwan wording on State Department website ;</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://nypost.com/2022/05/10/china-rips-us-over-wording-change-on-state-dept-taiwan-website/">China blasts US over wording change on State Department&#8217;s Taiwan website ;</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10801557/State-Dept-changes-wording-Taiwan-STRIKING-statement-U-S-opposition-independence.html">State Department changes wording on Taiwan document by STRIKING statement on US opposition to its independence amid ongoing invasion fears, prompting Beijing to complain about &#8216;political manipulation’</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/china-us-exchange-barbs-are-both-carry-out-drills-near-taiwan">China, US exchange barbs over military maneuvers near Taiwan ;</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-carried-out-drills-near-taiwan-2022-05-08/">China says it conducted exercises near Taiwan ;</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-carried-out-drills-near-taiwan-2022-05-08/">Taiwan forced to scramble jets in response to China military drills ;</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-carried-out-drills-near-taiwan-2022-05-08/">Taiwan forced to scramble jets in response to China military drills ;</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/15/china-holds-military-drills-around-taiwan-as-us-delegation-visits.html">China holds military drills around Taiwan as US delegation visits ;</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/15/china-holds-military-drills-around-taiwan-as-us-delegation-visits.html">China conducts fresh military drills around Taiwan as warning for US ‘bad actions’ ;</a></p>

China Outraged as US Changes Official Statement on Taiwan
