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According to Kelleyanne Conway, his campaign manager Trump was completely aware of the implications of his call. He had no briefings from the State Dept. prior to this call.
(CNN)President-elect Donald Trump spoke with the President of Taiwan Friday, according to a statement from his transition team, in a move that threatens to trigger a diplomatic showdown with China.
"President-elect Trump spoke with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, who offered her congratulations," Trump's transition team said in a statement. "During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties exists between Taiwan and the United States. President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming President of Taiwan earlier this year."
Trump's conversation marks the first publicly reported call between a US President or President-elect and the leader of Taiwan since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979, said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The telephone call is certain to incense China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province. It is the first major sign of the unpredictability that Trump has vowed to bring to long-held US relations with the rest of the world.
The call, first reported by the Financial Times, risks throwing US-China relations into a tailspin before Trump takes the oath of office on January 20. China's state-run CCTV quickly issued a statement saying Trump made "an unprecedented break with the One-China Policy and accepted US-Mainland protocol."
"There is no immediate reaction from the Chinese government to this call," the statement continued. "The Mainland says it firmly opposes official contact in any form between Washington and Taipei."
Trump on Friday night said Taipei initiated the call.
"The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!" tweeted the President-elect.
....
Stephen Yates, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation who is an adviser to Trump's transition, is in Taiwan and helped facilitate the call, according to a source familiar with the visit. Yates was an Asia adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney and is very supportive of Taiwan.
"This could be damaging," said Barry Pavel, director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council. "We'll see the Chinese reaction in several hours. I don't expect it to be pretty."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/02/politics/donald-trump-taiwan/
(CNN)President-elect Donald Trump spoke with the President of Taiwan Friday, according to a statement from his transition team, in a move that threatens to trigger a diplomatic showdown with China.
"President-elect Trump spoke with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, who offered her congratulations," Trump's transition team said in a statement. "During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties exists between Taiwan and the United States. President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming President of Taiwan earlier this year."
Trump's conversation marks the first publicly reported call between a US President or President-elect and the leader of Taiwan since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979, said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The telephone call is certain to incense China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province. It is the first major sign of the unpredictability that Trump has vowed to bring to long-held US relations with the rest of the world.
The call, first reported by the Financial Times, risks throwing US-China relations into a tailspin before Trump takes the oath of office on January 20. China's state-run CCTV quickly issued a statement saying Trump made "an unprecedented break with the One-China Policy and accepted US-Mainland protocol."
"There is no immediate reaction from the Chinese government to this call," the statement continued. "The Mainland says it firmly opposes official contact in any form between Washington and Taipei."
Trump on Friday night said Taipei initiated the call.
"The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!" tweeted the President-elect.
....
Stephen Yates, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation who is an adviser to Trump's transition, is in Taiwan and helped facilitate the call, according to a source familiar with the visit. Yates was an Asia adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney and is very supportive of Taiwan.
"This could be damaging," said Barry Pavel, director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council. "We'll see the Chinese reaction in several hours. I don't expect it to be pretty."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/02/politics/donald-trump-taiwan/
