The abrupt disappearance of a live feed showing Taiwan's digital minister occurred because the White House panicked over a map showing Taiwan in a different color than China, Reuters claimed on Monday.
The abrupt disappearance of a live feed showing Taiwan's digital minister occurred because the White House panicked over a map showing Taiwan in a different color than China, Reuters claimed on Monday. Biden included the island nation of Taiwan despite the fact that the American government does not recognize Taiwan's sovereignty as doing so would immediately sever all diplomatic ties with communist China. According to the Reuters report, White House officials feared the different colors on the map were meant to highlight the fact that Taiwan is a different country from China - despite the fact that China, Laos, and Vietnam are all the same color. "One source said the map generated an instant email flurry among U.S. officials and the White House National Security Council angrily contacted the State Department, concerned it appeared to show Taiwan as a distinct country," Reuters reported. Among the concerns from Biden officials was the fact that the map apparently "Had not appeared in 'dry-run' versions of the presentation before the summit." One of the anonymous sources speaking to Reuters noted that the map was not a political one - meaning it was not showing the borders of sovereign states - and that little dispute exists that Taiwan is a significantly freer society than China, the point the map was made to show. "The U.S. defence relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act. We will uphold our commitment under the act, we will continue to support Taiwan's self-defence, and we will continue to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo," a White House spokesperson said in October. Notoriously misogynistic Chinese government propagandist Chen Weihua said in October, the last time Biden claimed America had a commitment to militarily defend Taiwan, that the president was "Just too old to think clearly." The state-run Global Times newspaper asserted, "Biden does not have the political authority to announce that the U.S. military will 'defend Taiwan' when a war breaks out, nor does he have the confidence to have a strategic collision with [China] in the Taiwan Straits."