Biden admin announces US does not support Taiwan's bid for independence from China

On Saturday, President Joe Biden said that of United States, "We not support independence" for Taiwan after the country voted for Lai Ching-te as its new president. 

According to Politico, Lai has called for Taiwanese independence and faced strong opposition from China, who called the election a choice between war and peace. 

The Biden administration has since clarified that it expects differences between China and Taiwan to be settled peacefully and that it does not support an independent Taiwan. 

Other US officials took to X, to congratulate Lia on his win. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "We congratulate Dr. Lai Ching-te on his victory in Taiwan's presidential election." He added, "We also congratulate the Taiwan people for participating in free and fair elections and demonstrating the strength of their democratic system."

House Speaker Mike Johnson also congratulated Lai and said, "We are happy to see democracy thriving among the Taiwanese people." He continued, "The United States is eager to work with President-elect Lai and build on the strong partnership we’ve enjoyed with President Tsai."

Johnson also announced that he would be asking House leaders to "lead a delegation to Taipei following Lai's inauguration in May." He added, "I am hopeful the United States and Taiwan together will continue promoting the principles of liberty, opportunity, and security for all freedom-loving countries and our partners in the Indo-Pacific."

President Biden stated unequivocally in May 2022 that the US would defend Taiwan militarily if China attempted to take over its territory. "That's the commitment we made," he said. 

"That's the commitment we made. We are not—look. Here's the situation: we agree with the One China policy, we've signed onto it, and all of the attendant agreements made from there," Biden continued. "But the idea that, that it could be taken by force, just taken by force, is just not appropriate. It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine. And so it’s a burden that is even stronger."

After the admission by President Biden, the White House staff claimed that he was just reiterating "our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself" such as has been done in Ukraine.