Taiwan’s representative to the United States, Alexander Yui, pushed back against suggestions that Taiwan is moving toward formal independence, arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump may have only been exposed to Beijing’s narrative during his recent visit to China.
Speaking about Trump’s remarks following a summit in Beijing, Yui questioned why the U.S. president had said both China and Taiwan “need to cool it.” He suggested the comments reflected the perspective presented by Chinese officials during Trump’s stay.
“During the two days that he was in Beijing, he was only getting the Chinese version of the story,” Yui said, referring to Beijing’s longstanding claim that Taiwan is attempting to separate from China.
Yui rejected that characterization, arguing there is no issue of “secession” because Taiwan has never been governed by the People’s Republic of China. He noted that the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name, was established in 1912, while the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.
“We’ve never been part of the People’s Republic of China,” he said, adding that the governments on Taiwan and mainland China “were never subordinate to each other.”
The envoy also cited comments by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who recently stated there is “no Taiwan independence movement” because Taiwan already considers itself a sovereign and democratic nation operating under the name Republic of China.
According to Yui, Taiwan’s position is focused on maintaining the existing status quo across the Taiwan Strait, while accusing Beijing of attempting to alter the situation through coercion and military pressure.
He said China is seeking to “absorb Taiwan by coercion, by military means, by invasion, by all means possible,” while relying on historical arguments that Taiwan has long been part of China.
Yui dismissed those claims by drawing comparisons to historical territorial changes elsewhere in the world. He suggested that if historical ownership alone justified modern territorial claims, countries such as Mexico could seek to reclaim Texas and California, or Mongolia could claim parts of China due to the former Mongol Empire.
“Taiwan is the Republic of China, 23 million people in a democracy,” Yui said. “The People’s Republic of China has never ruled over Taiwan, so there’s no such thing as secession or reunification because there’s never been a unification between the two sides.”
Asked whether Taiwan was seeking further direct communication with Trump or the U.S. administration, Yui declined to provide details on possible talks between Trump and President Lai, saying only: “I’ll keep you posted.”
However, he stressed that communication channels between Taipei and Washington remain “fluid and constant.” He also pointed to repeated public statements from the United States reaffirming that its longstanding policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged.