Trump's Taiwan Ennui: A Conversation Long Overdue The news that US President Donald Trump has expressed willingness to speak directly with Taiwanese President William Lai Ching te has sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles, but it's a conversation that's been overdue for decades.
The last time the two leaders spoke was in 1979, when Washington shifted its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. This shift marked the beginning of a complicated dance between the US, China, and Taiwan.
Under the One China policy, which holds that there is only one China with Beijing as its capital, diplomatic protocol has governed relations between the US and Taiwan since then.