TAIPEI -- In December 2016, Donald Trump signaled a new tack in U.S.-Taiwan relations when he answered a call from President Tsai Ing-wen to congratulate him on his recent election win -- the first time since 1979 that a U.S. president or president-elect had directly spoken with his Taiwan counterpart.
This break of protocol angered China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and forbids international recognition of the island under its "One China" policy. Taipei has taken advantage of the U.S.-China trade, tech and security tensions sparked by Trump, rising anti-Beijing sentiment globally, and has harnessed its success in taming the coronavirus pandemic to boost both its local economy and international relations.
