The China Post
Date: December 14, 2016
By: The China Post news staff and CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Obama administration has reiterated its support for “one China,” as speculation mounts over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to abandon the decadeslong policy.

The comments come in the wake of a protocol-shattering phone call between the U.S. president-elect and President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2, and an interview in which Trump said he did not know “why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy.”

Seeking to reassure Beijing, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a daily briefing that the U.S. government under the Obama administration was “fully behind” the one-China policy, adding that it would not use Taiwan as leverage in any dispute.

The policy had been pursued by presidents from both parties, and the United States has benefited from adherence to that policy, Earnest said.

“One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip.”    [FULL  STORY]