Foreign Minister Joseph Wu says he is glad to see the Pentagon come out and break the ‘one China principle’ spell. Wu made the comment on the foreign ministry’s Twitter account on Tuesday in response to a clarification by US Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby.
Kirby said China's defense ministry erroneously claimed that the US adheres to the one-China principle. The one-China principle is China’s claim that Taiwan is a part of China. In a video released on Twitter, Kirby emphasized that the Secretary did not say this during an April 20 phone call he had with China’s defense minister.
Many nations that do not formally recognize Taiwan hold a one-China policy, which acknowledges that Beijing holds the position that Taiwan is a part of China.
The one China policy is ambiguous and is not the equivalent of recognizing that Taiwan is a part of China.
The US policy is that Taiwan’s status is undetermined and any resolution of differences between Taipei and Beijing should be peaceful and have the consent of the people of Taiwan.