us state department
US insists it does not support Taiwan independence after fact sheet change angers Beijing
- A recent U.S. State Department fact sheet removed an acknowledgement that Taiwan is part of China and that Washington does not support Taiwanese independence.
- The update angered Beijing, which stressed that the island is an “inalienable” part of China and described the change as “political manipulation of the Taiwan question.”
- State Department spokesman Ned Price affirmed that the U.S. does not support Taiwan’s independence, but highlighted its “rock-solid” commitment to the island’s defense.
- Washington maintains an ambiguous policy on the extent of its military assistance, deterring Beijing from launching an assault and discouraging Taipei from seeking independence.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correct an earlier version that traced the “one China” policy back to Beijing instead of Washington.
After a State Department fact sheet was changed to observe Taiwan’s “best interests,” U.S. officials have maintained that Washington upholds the “one China” policy and therefore does not support the island’s independence.
US State Department criticizes China’s human rights record in latest report
- The U.S. State Department’s latest global human rights report accused China of meddling in Hong Kong’s political affairs by revising its electoral process and imposing new laws. The department published similar findings in an earlier Hong Kong Policy Act Report on March 31.
- The report also highlighted the targeting of ethnic minorities in China and Beijing’s efforts to detain overseas critics.
- Beijing previously published its own report listing human rights violations committed by the U.S., which it accused of “playing with fake democracy.”
The U.S. State Department has once again accused the Chinese government of several offenses in its latest global human rights report released on Tuesday.
The department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which cited research by diplomats, NGOs and news outlets’ accounts as sources, came less than two weeks after the department released its Hong Kong Policy Act Report, an annual publication mandated by the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
Americans Visiting China May Not Be Able to Return Home, State Department Warns
Americans who travel to China may be detained without warning and cause while traveling to the People’s Republic of China in a recent travel advisory from the U.S. State Department.
This is a level two advisory that pushes for increased caution that include other countries such as France, Germany and Denmark.
