President Biden had a short message for Taiwan after its election of a new president on Saturday.
“We do not support independence,” Biden said on the South Lawn Saturday.
Taiwan voters elected Vice President Lai Ching-te, who goes by William, as president Saturday, keeping the ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party in power for its third straight term.
The result of the election will determine the country’s relations with China for the next four years. China claims to rule the strip of water between the countries and claims sovereignty over the island despite it being self-governed for nearly three-quarters of a century.
China previously warned that the election was critical, as voters could be choosing between war and peace.
Biden’s stance reinforces the One China policy in recognizing Beijing’s claims that Taiwan is historically part of the mainland. The U.S. has committed to informal relations with Taipei.
After Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Nov., he said he “made clear” China should not interfere in Taiwan’s election. He said the U.S. maintains the One China agreement and he does not have plans to change it.
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The U.S. announced Wednesday that it would be sending an unofficial delegation to Taiwan after the island conducted its election. The delegation will include former high-ranking U.S. officials. Biden has sent unofficial delegations to Taiwan in 2021 and 2022.
“Given our unofficial relationship with Taiwan, we often send these high-level unofficial delegations of former government officials to Taipei,” a senior Biden administration official said. “We have a decades-long tradition of doing so.”
It’s unknown how China will react to the new delegation and Lai’s win, but the country previously told the U.S. that it will “not make any concession or compromise” on Taiwan.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Lai on his victory in a statement Saturday and offered congratulations to the Taiwan people for “demonstrating the strength of their robust democratic system and electoral process.”
Lai, who said he is open to talks with China, posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter thanking voters for electing him and pledged to uphold peace in the Taiwan Straight and to be “a force of good in the international community.”