Taiwan’s government urged the U.S. not to sign a new joint communiqué with China that would require Washington to acknowledge Beijing’s “one China” principle. Central News Agency (CNA), Taiwan’s state-owned news agency, reported on this issue on March 22. Rumors have been circulating that the U.S. and China could sign a fourth communiqué at the upcoming meeting between the two countries’ leaders next month.
“Signing of a fourth communiqué at the upcoming meeting would be unwise,” said Taiwan’s Foreign Minister David Lee during a Legislative Yuan inquiry on Wednesday, “We hope the U.S. does not regress on its ‘one China’ policy.” According to Lee, the U.S. government replied to Taiwan’s concerns but the contents of the official response were unsuitable for publication.
Singapore’s leading Chinese newspaper Zaobao reported that Chao Chun-shan, president of the Taiwan-based Foundation of Asia-Pacific Peace Studies, downplayed the chances of a fourth communiqué being signed at the U.S.-China summit in April. Chao noted that the two countries’ top priorities will be U.S.-China trade issues and tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Sources: Central News Agency, March 22, 2017
http://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/201703220144-1.aspx
Zaobao, March 22, 2017
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20170322-738882