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Beijing warns Washington not to allow Taiwan to rename de facto embassy
- Reported request to US to change ‘Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office’ to ‘Taiwan Representative Office’ draws rebuke from Beijing
- Observers say Washington is trying to test the water with Beijing, which would view a name change as weakening the one-China principle
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Amber Wangin Beijing
Beijing is protesting against the possibility of Washington allowing Taipei’s US office to be renamed, and has warned the United States not to challenge the one-China principle.
The US is considering a request from Taipei to change the name of its mission in the US capital from Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (Tecro) to Taiwan Representative Office, the Financial Times reported, citing multiple people briefed on internal US discussions.
A decision had not been made, and would require an executive order by President Joe Biden, according to Saturday’s report.
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Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday held their second telephone call of the former’s presidency, during which Biden said “the US has never intended to change the one-China policy”, according to Beijing’s statement. A statement by the US government made no mention of the issue.
10:22
Why has the relationship between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan taken a turn for the worse?
Why has the relationship between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan taken a turn for the worse?
Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, to be brought into its fold by force if necessary.
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