美国国家公共电台 NPR Taiwan's President: Phone Call With Trump 'Doesn't Mean A Policy Shift'

Taiwan's President: Phone Call With Trump 1 'Doesn't Mean A Policy Shift'

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Donald Trump is following through on his promise to disrupt the U.S.-China status quo. Last week, he became the first U.S. president or president-elect in almost 40 years to speak with the president of Taiwan. Beijing was not happy. It considers Taiwan a province of the mainland and objects when Taiwan acts like an independent country with its own foreign policy. Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, hasn't spoken about her phone call with Trump until now. For more, we go to the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, and NPR's international editor Will Dobson. Good morning, Will.

WILL DOBSON, BYLINE 2: Hi, Rachel.

MARTIN: How did this come about? And what exactly did President Tsai say?

DOBSON: So I'm traveling with a small group of journalists, who - we had a meeting scheduled with President Tsai ahead of time. And fortunately, the president decided 3 to keep the meeting...

MARTIN: Did someone ask about the Trump comments, or did she just bring it up?

DOBSON: Oh, yes. This was her first opportunity to speak with any journalists. And so - I'll read exactly what she said because, I think, in this instance, language is very important. She said (reading) of course, I have to stress that one phone call does not mean a policy shift. The phone call was a way for us to express our respect for the U.S. election, as well as congratulate President-Elect Trump on his win. I do not foresee major policy shifts in the near future because we all see the value of stability in the region.

MARTIN: But she knows that it's a big deal for the Taiwanese president to talk on the phone with a president-elect of the United States. So what's her play in all this? What is she trying to do?

DOBSON: Well, I mean, people that I've spoken to here in the last two days said, you know, President Tsai is a very cautious person. She is a technocrat 4, a trade negotiator, a real wonk. But they said it doesn't matter because an opportunity like this, any Taiwanese leader would take it. And so this is a chance to really challenge the international isolation 5 that Taiwan has felt, so she seized it. But, you know, she's very quick. And she was quick today to really make clear that this isn't something more than what we know, that we shouldn't read more into this call, that it is simply this and nothing more.

MARTIN: Of course, Donald Trump reiterated 6 that. And he said in a tweet, the phone call was not a big deal. That, in turn, seems to upset the Chinese even more, dismissing this because, of course, they see this as a repudiation 7 of the One-China policy - this idea that China and Taiwan are part of the same country.

DOBSON: Right. You know, the Chinese see it as very serious. You know, the status of Taiwan is a top priority for the Chinese leadership. It's something that's viewed in highly nationalistic, populist terms. And it's something that Beijing has made clear for a long, long time that is completely non-negotiable. You can go back - it's now 21 years - that the last time that a U.S. administration surprised the Chinese government on Taiwan was when the Clinton administration in 1995, after repeatedly assuring the Chinese that they would not grant a visa to then Taiwanese leader Lee Teng-hui to visit his alma mater, Cornell, did precisely 8 that.

And people that I've spoken to in Taiwan say that they credit that decision of having a greater weight in the Chinese government's decision the following year to begin massive military exercises off the coast of Taiwan, which led to then President Clinton sending two carrier groups to bring down the tension and ultimately have the Chinese stand down, which was the largest concentration of naval 9 power in East Asia since the Vietnam War.

MARTIN: On the one hand, Donald Trump himself is saying it's not a big deal. His transition team has let it be known that the phone call was meant to be provocative 10. The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that former Senator Bob Dole 11 actually helped arrange it. What does it mean looking forward, Will?

DOBSON: Well, from the Taiwanese point of view, you really can't overestimate 12 how much they feel isolated 13 in international communities. So to have this connection between an incoming president and a current president is something - well, it hasn't happened in almost 40 years.

MARTIN: NPR's international editor Will Dobson on the line from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Thanks so much, Will.

DOBSON: Thank you.