Donald Trump has now been in office for...okay, well, he’s still a month away from assuming office, but he’s already making changes.
Yes, turn and face the strain. Because for one, it looks like he might change 40 years of US diplomatic policy in regards to Taiwan—policy created in part to avoid having a war with China.
On Sunday, Trump questioned the “One China” policy. That’s the policy where both China and Taiwan agree that there’s only one China, but disagree on which one that one is.
And the US has its own one China policy where it also agrees that there’s only one China, but unlike China’s version, the US doesn’t recognize China’s authority over Taiwan. Whew.
You know what? Let’s just call it the Highlander policy. For clarity.
Anyway, let’s recap. Two weeks ago, Trump took a phone call from Taiwanese president Tsai Ying-wen. That’s the first time in 40 years a US president has spoken directly with a Taiwanese president. And that left many with mixed feelings.
Not the Chinese regime, though. They were very clear on how they felt. But even though they consider Taiwan just a breakaway province, they decided to just play it cool with Trump. Agree to disagree. Vice President-Elect Mike Pence also said it wasn’t a big deal.
