Last month, the State Department amended its website’s wording on Taiwan, removing language about not supporting Taiwan’s independence and acknowledging Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of the China, which angered Beijing.
Washington said the update did not reflect a change in policy. This wording has now been changed again, to restore a line saying “we do not support Taiwan independence”.
The change was first reported by Taiwan’s official Central News Agency on Friday, and appears to have taken place on May 28, the date at the top of the fact sheet.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in May that the United States does not support Taiwanese independence and “we have made that known repeatedly, both publicly and privately.”
Taiwan is already a de facto independent state, although it enjoys only very limited international recognition. Washington has no official ties with Taipei, but is its most important international backer and arms supplier.
The official name of Tawan remains the Republic of China, the name of the government which took refuge on the island in 1949 after losing a civil war against the Communist Party which set up the People’s Republic of China with its capital Beijing .
In 2005, the Chinese government passed a law giving Beijing the legal basis for military action if it deems that Taiwan has seceded or is about to do so.
The government of Taiwan claims that only the island’s 23 million people have the right to decide their future and that, while desiring peace, it will defend itself if attacked.