It has been found that the US State Department has restored the phrase "I do not support Taiwan's independence," which was recently deleted from the website.
While the Chinese government is opposed to the recent remarks of US President Joe Biden's "military intervention to defend Taiwan," it seems to be trying to manage US-China relations by suggesting that there is no change in Taiwan's policy.
The U.S. State Department reintroduced the statement, "We do not support Taiwan's independence," in its overview of U.S.-Taiwan relations, updated on the 28th of last month.
Previously, in the overview updated on the 5th of last month, the existing contents of 'Taiwan is a part of China' and 'the United States does not support Taiwan independence' were deleted, raising observations that the US policy on Taiwan has changed.
The disapproval of Taiwan's independence is one of the key elements of the 'One China Policy' introduced by the United States in 1979 to define relations with Taiwan after establishing diplomatic ties with China and severing ties with Taiwan.
The policy includes the content that the United States opposes either China or Taiwan to change the current situation unilaterally and expects a peaceful resolution of the cross-strait issue.
The US has chosen 'strategic ambiguity', stipulating that it maintains the capability to resist force or coercion that threatens Taiwan, but does not specify direct military intervention.
China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, strongly opposed the remark and the removal of the phrase from the State Department website.
Although President Biden himself and other officials have repeatedly argued that this does not mean a change in US policy, the debate is likely to continue for the time being.