Oops, they did it again! State Department calls Beijing the “Republic of China”
If there’s one thing the Chinese Communist Party really gets annoyed about, it’s when someone confuses them with the government of Taiwan! And that’s exactly what the State Department did during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent trip to Asia. Following Clinton’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Bali last weekend, the State ...
If there's one thing the Chinese Communist Party really gets annoyed about, it's when someone confuses them with the government of Taiwan! And that's exactly what the State Department did during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent trip to Asia.
If there’s one thing the Chinese Communist Party really gets annoyed about, it’s when someone confuses them with the government of Taiwan! And that’s exactly what the State Department did during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent trip to Asia.
Following Clinton’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Bali last weekend, the State Department put out a press release that began with this line:
"During their meeting today, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republic of China Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi reviewed the wide range of common interests between the United States and China and discussed ways to advance our shared goal of maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region."
The problem is that the "Republic of China" is the official name of Taiwan, and the Beijing-led government is the head of the "People’s Republic of China."
The incident brings to mind a 2006 incident during former Chinese President Jiang Zemin‘s visit to Washington when, in a ceremony on the White House lawn, the Chinese anthem was introduced as "national anthem of the Republic of China."
Although it was most likely an innocent mistake, we’re told by a source on the plane with Clinton that the Chinese delegation went ballistic and complained to Clinton’s staff. The State Department sent out a correction soon after and the State Department website now reflects the corrected information.
Josh Rogin is a former staff writer at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshrogin
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