Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/12
By: Sophia Yeh and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Taiwan will not become a “bargaining chip” in an international geopolitical game as long as it can keep its democracy and expand its international participation, officials said Monday.

The officials were reacting to a comment by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in a TV interview that the U.S. under his administration may not necessarily recognize Beijing’s “one China” principle when it comes to cross-strait relations.

“I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday.

Trump’s statement, while welcomed by pro-Taiwan independence politicians in Taiwan, also triggered worries that the U.S. might use Taiwan as a bargaining chip in its dealings with China on trade issues.    [FULL  STORY]