Taiwan Asks US Not to Cause ‘Misunderstanding’ After Flag Tweet Removed

Taiwan Asks US Not to Cause ‘Misunderstanding’ After Flag Tweet Removed
Taiwan Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan, on Feb. 11, 2020. Ben Blanchard/Reuters
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TAIPEI—Taiwan has asked its office in Washington to remind the United States not to cause “unnecessary speculation or misunderstanding” after the White House deleted a social media post on COVID-19 vaccine donations that included Taiwan’s flag.

A spokesman for the White House National Security Council called the use of the flag “an honest mistake” by the team handling graphics and social media that should not be viewed as a shift in U.S. policy towards Taipei, under which Washington does not formally recognize Taiwan’s government.