Press Release
☷Background Press Call by a Senior Administration Official on Taiwan Elections
White House ( By Press Release office)
Jan 13,2024
| 4| 0
So , on January 13th , Taiwan will have presidential and legislative elections after a transition period . The new Taiwan president will be inaugurated on May 20th . This will be the fourth time they ' re transitioning between democratically elected administrations since 1996 . We fully trust Taiwan ' s democratic processes and there ' s bipartisan support for their fair elections . Taiwan is not only a role model for democracy in the region , but also globally . We ' re against any outside interference in their elections . Just to be clear , we don ' t take sides or have any preferred candidate . Our policy towards Taiwan will remain the same , and our strong unofficial relationship will continue . Hey , thanks for joining tonight . I was just trying to figure out how to approach a few things beforehand , you know how it goes . It ' s been a while since we had a chat about Taiwan issues , and with the elections coming up on January 13th , we thought it was a good time to do it . I ' ll give a brief overview and then we can dive into the questions . Hopefully , we can wrap this up in about half an hour or so . Sounds good? The United States and China have had their differences on cross - Strait issues , but we ' ve managed to handle them over the past 40 years . When President Biden met with President Xi in San Francisco last November , he made it clear that our policy towards Taiwan hasn ' t changed and won ' t change . He reiterated our commitment to the One China policy , guided by the Taiwan Relations Act , the Three Joint Communiqués , and the Six Assurances . He also mentioned that we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side and we don ' t support Taiwan ' s independence . We also plan to send an unofficial delegation to Taiwan after the election . We can ' t confirm the timing or participants yet , as some details are still being decided . However , it ' s important to note that sending such delegations is a longstanding tradition in our unofficial relationship with Taiwan . Over the past 20 years , we have sent former government officials of various positions , including Cabinet secretaries , deputy secretaries of state , national security advisors , assistant secretaries , members of Congress , governors , chairmen of the Joint Chiefs , and even former White House chiefs of staff . President Biden has already sent an unofficial delegation twice before , in April 2021 and February 2022 , which included former deputy secretaries of state and possibly former members of Congress as well . I can ' t predict how the PRC will react to the elections , but it ' s important to note that elections are a normal part of the democratic process . If Beijing chooses to respond with military pressure or coercion , they would be the ones causing trouble . Maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is crucial for countries and economies worldwide . Taiwan plays a significant role in global supply chains , with about half of all global trade passing through the Taiwan Strait . Any disruption to peace would harm the global economy and affect all countries . During the election and transition period , we will keep communication channels open with Beijing through diplomatic and military channels . We will also ensure that the American Institute in Taiwan ( AIT ) and the AIT chair maintain close contact with Taiwan ' s representatives to show our support for their democratic processes and our commitment to peace , stability , and maintaining the current situation . Both sides should refrain from making any unilateral changes to the status quo . We support cross - Strait dialogue and believe that any differences between the two sides should be resolved peacefully without any pressure or coercion . We don ' t take a stance on how these differences should be ultimately resolved as long as it ' s done peacefully . Neither of these things , in the past few years , were seen as escalatory by China . So , sending delegations is totally normal . It aligns with our One China policy , the status quo , and is timed after the election to avoid favoring any candidate or party . Also , it ' s been a tradition for about 20 years to send former senior US officials with the AIT chair to Taiwan after their elections . We ' ll continue that tradition after this election too . In 2016 , we sent former Deputy Secretary Bill Burns and the AIT chair to Taipei to meet with the incoming team and the losing candidates . Now , I ' ll stop talking and answer any questions . The main point here is that elections have been happening for a while and it ' s a normal process . We don ' t know what will happen or how China will respond , but our focus is on peace , stability , and maintaining the status quo . We ' re communicating with both Beijing and Taipei through unofficial delegations like the one we ' ll be sending after the election , as well as through AIT and the AIT chair . MODERATOR: Next , we have Demetri from the FT . Q: Thanks . Regarding interference or influence , we ' re closely monitoring the situation . We ' re in touch with Taipei through AIT to understand their concerns and what they ' re observing . It ' s no secret that Beijing has its own preferences for the election outcome and is trying to exert influence in various ways . However , we trust in Taiwan ' s democratic process . Q: Thanks for doing this . Can you just say , regarding the first point , the Taiwanese are very specific about the types of interference they claim are already happening - cyberattacks , economic pressure , and others . Can you confirm if the U . S . believes Beijing is already engaging in these actions that Taiwan accuses them of , and if they are already trying to influence the election? Also , in terms of post - election delegations , you mentioned going to Taipei , but the precedent has been to also send a delegation to Beijing . Even if you can ' t provide details , can you confirm that a delegation would go to Beijing after the election , following the precedent set by the U . S . in the past after Taiwanese elections? Thanks . MODERATOR: Next , we have Nick Schifrin from PBS . I want to emphasize that we have full confidence in Taiwan ' s democratic processes . We ' re not worried about it impacting the election results . Taiwan has been diligent in identifying and exposing disinformation and misinformation , as well as any attempts by Beijing or its proxies to interfere . And as for the delegation to Beijing , as I mentioned earlier , we ' ll use the communication channels we ' ve used in the past with Beijing . The specifics and methods may vary over time . So , it ' s not always necessary to send a delegation to Beijing . That ' s all I can say for now . SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Great , thanks . Regarding the first question , we ' ll continue using our communication channels with Beijing , which have proven effective during periods of heightened tension in the past year . MODERATOR: Now , let ' s hear from Charles Hutzler . Q: Hi , thanks for doing this . I just want to follow up on Demetri ' s questions . Can you tell us when the message that Beijing should not interfere in Taiwan ' s election has been delivered to Beijing recently? Has it been conveyed publicly? And what was discussed with Liu Jianchao? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you for the question , Charles . We have consistently delivered the message of non - interference in every high - level engagement over the past six months or so , if not earlier . It was definitely conveyed during the Woodside summit . MODERATOR: Now we ' ll go to Shaun Tandon with AFP . MODERATOR: And our last question will go to Morgan Chalfant with Semafor . SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Whenever tensions rise , it ' s important for the U . S . government to have contingency plans in place . While I can ' t provide specifics , we are prepared and considering all possibilities , from no response to more severe reactions . Regarding trade , the trade relationship with Taiwan is important . We have put effort into the 21st century trade initiative in Phase One , which was signed last year , and we intend to continue moving forward with Phase Two as well . However , I don ' t have specific details on the timeline . I simply don ' t know at the moment . But I don ' t expect it to be affected by the election results . There is bipartisan support for it in Taipei as well . SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks for that . When it comes to coercion or shaping and influencing , Beijing has been doing this for a long time . What we ' re seeing now is consistent with what we have seen in the past , although I can ' t comment on specific details . But there is definitely a pattern of behavior from China that remains fairly consistent . Q: Hi there . Thanks for this call . Can I expand a bit on the question that Nick asked , regarding China ' s actions in previous Taiwanese elections? Do you see this as similar to what China has done before or is it something different? Also , in terms of the military talks this week at the Pentagon , do you think it will affect China ' s behavior in any way? And lastly , regarding trade , there were trade talks with Taiwan last year . Do you expect them to continue under the new administration , regardless of who wins the election? Or are you waiting for the new administration to form? Thanks . Q: Thank you for doing this . I understand you can ' t predict China ' s reaction , but can you talk about how the U . S . is preparing for a potential military response from China? And how concerned are you about a provocative reaction derailing the progress made between the U . S . and China in recent months?Sorry , and about your second question , I was just wondering how worried you are about a provocative response messing up the progress the U . S . and China have made recently . SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah , it ' s a good question , but I think you ' re putting the Taiwan elections and cross - Strait issues in the wrong context . The health of the U . S . - China relationship can ' t be seen as a result of cross - Strait tensions . We ' re actively engaged in diplomacy with China to handle difficult situations . Our expectation isn ' t for China to change its cross - Strait policy , but rather how we can manage this tough time , avoid unintended conflict , clarify our intentions , and keep communication open . And that ' s exactly what we ' ve been doing through this period of diplomacy over the past year or so . MODERATOR: You know what , we actually have time for one more question . Let ' s go to Kevin Collier with NBC . Q Hi , thanks for that . Can you explain - I understand that there are different groups that have accused China of using information operations and election interference to target Taiwan , but what is the NSC ' s understanding of that issue? What has China done? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: You know , I think Taiwan is pretty advanced in being able to figure out what ' s happening in their own system . So instead of looking to us for this information , I would look to Taiwan and their announcements , and what they ' ve shared publicly . Broadly speaking , we ' ve seen China ' s attempts to shape the information environment and put economic pressure on Taiwan through tariff changes that they ' ve announced in the past few weeks . So , none of this surprises me . Taiwan is quite good at calling it out for what it is . I would look to them for the information on this . MODERATOR: Alright , that ' s the end of the call . Thank you all , and we ' ll send out a transcript soon . SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks everyone , and I ' m looking forward to continuing the conversation . 7:08 P . M . EST .
PLAY the NEWS
* May be useful for visually impaired persons .
Press release information:
Direct link to press release:
Click here .
