China has accused the US of “political manipulation” and attempting to shift the status quo in the Taiwan Strait after the State Department quietly made a change to its website about the contested nation’s independence.
The amendment, which was updated on 5 May but appears to have only caught the attention of Beijing on Tuesday, includes the removal of a line that emphasised Washington’s longstanding position not to support Taiwanese independence - “The United States does not support Taiwan independence” - and the removal of a key line that noted the US recognising the one-China principle.
