The Taiwanese won’t charge forward and declare independence, Obama said.
Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/17
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
United States President Barack Obama on Friday surprisingly touched on the thorny
President Barack Obama speaks during the start of his news conference, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Taiwan issue, which is widely believed to be associated with Donald Trump’s 10-minute call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen earlier on. The island’s government later thanked the Obama Administration for recognizing Taiwan’s efforts in maintaining the status quo, but gave no comment on Washington’s foreign policy.
In a final year-end press conference on Friday, Obama said it was fine for President-elect Donald Trump to review Washington’s one-China policy toward Taiwan but cautioned that a shift would lead to significant consequences in the U.S.-Beijing relationship.
Obama noted that the parties involved have reached a consensus of maintaining the status quo and China has recognized that Taiwan is an entity. On the other hand, Taiwan has been honoring the consensus of keeping the status quo which allows it “to be a pretty successful economy and a people who have a high degree of self-determining,” although the consensus is not completely satisfactory to all stakeholders. [FULL STORY]
