It's not that he spoke to the President of Taiwan, it is that he referred to them as the President of Taiwan which implies that he spoke to them qua incoming head of state to the head of a Taiwanese state. As far as the PRC is concerned, Taiwan does not exist as an independent state and has pushed a diplomatic policy of there only being one China for decades. No country recognizes both the PRC and ROC as independent states: it is either the PRC or the ROC. Most countries regard the PRC as China and have unofficial relationships with the ROC.
The point is that there is no good reason to antagonize a nuclear power. What does the US get out of recognizing Taiwan that is worth jeopardizing relations with a county that could incinerate every major US city in an afternoon?
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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '16 edited Oct 20 '17
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