Taiwanese minister’s map disappears during US democracy summit
- Sources detail ‘email flurry’ among US officials over different colours for Taiwan and Chinese mainland in video presentation
- The map appeared for about a minute before Digital Minister Audrey Tang’s video feed was cut and replaced with audio only
Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang’s video feed was cut during a panel discussion on “countering digital authoritarianism” and replaced with audio only, at the behest of the White House, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The White House offered no formal comment but the State Department said “confusion” over screen-sharing resulted in Tang’s video feed being dropped, calling it an “honest mistake”.
The sources, who asked not to be identified because of the issue’s sensitivity, said the White House was concerned that differentiating between Taiwan and China on a map during a US-hosted conference could be seen to be at odds with Washington’s one-China policy.
Beijing regards the island as part of its territory, to be returned by force if necessary. The long-standing one-China policy avoids taking a position on the issue.
Tang’s presentation included a colour-coded map from South African NGO Civicus, ranking the world by openness on civil rights.