Shen Yu-chung: US Policy on Taiwan Sees No Major Change After Trump-Xi Meeting

(CNA, Taipei, 19th, by reporter Li Ya-wen) Shen Yu-chung, Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), stated at a seminar today that US policy towards Taiwan has not undergone major changes after the "Trump-Xi meeting," and that the deepening of Taiwan-US cooperation is based on their mutual interest—that the Taiwan Strait must remain peaceful, stable, and maintain the status quo. US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on the 14th. At the "Seminar on the Development of US-China-Taiwan and Cross-Strait Situations after the Trump-Xi Meeting" held at National Taiwan University's Center for China Studies this morning, Shen stated that after the meeting, public attention focused on three major issues: "Has US policy towards Taiwan changed?", "the issue of US arms sales to Taiwan," and "how to interpret Trump's remarks on 'Taiwan independence'." Shen emphasized that after the Trump-Xi meeting, there has been no major change in US policy towards Taiwan. He said that based on information from various sources, it is understood that while Beijing extensively elaborated on its position on the Taiwan issue, Trump mostly listened. Coupled with public statements from figures like US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, US policy towards Taiwan remains consistently unchanged. Regarding the issue of US arms sales to Taiwan, Shen interpreted that although the US mentioned arms sales as a "bargaining chip" in negotiations with Beijing, Trump has consistently emphasized that he made no promises to Beijing. Instead, Trump asked Beijing to "cool down" in the geopolitics of the Taiwan Strait. Speaker Johnson also clarified his position, stating, "They (Taiwan) need to maintain their autonomy and security." Shen stressed that Taiwan and the United States continue to deepen their cooperation based on mutual interests. At this stage, the mutual interest is that "the Taiwan Strait must be peaceful and stable, and maintain the status quo." This is the consistent policy of the Taiwan government and a common interest of democratic countries like the United States and Japan. The government will continue to maintain communication with all sectors in the US to seek support for Taiwan on the issue of arms sales. Shen said that the so-called "Taiwan independence" is a political term with complex connotations; what Taiwanese society, Trump, and Xi Jinping mean by it are not entirely the same. For Taiwan, the Republic of China is a mature democracy, and the fact that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other is an objective reality. At this stage, Taiwan does not have an independence problem, only the pressure of being unified by an authoritarian power. He said the government's position has remained consistent: it does not accept unification by an authoritarian dictatorship and will firmly defend the status quo of freedom and democracy. The status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is a common interest of Taiwan, the United States, and democratic countries worldwide. The only party currently seeking to change the status quo is the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Republic of China.