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A phone call took place on December 2, 2016 between the U.S President-elect Donald Trump and the President of the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) Tsai Ing-wen. This event marks the first time since 1979 that a U.S. President or President-elect directly spoken with a President of the Republic of China. In the call, Tsai congratulated Trump's victory in the presidential election, the two leaders spoke for around 10 minutes, focusing on politics, the economy, and security in the Asia-Pacific region. Following the call, Trump publicized the event on Facebook and Twitter, addressing Tsai as "the President of Taiwan". After the event was confirmed by Trump's transition team, the Presidential Office released a statement about the call. Several prominent Republicans have expressed praise for the call, citing that the United States no longer needs to have pressure from the government of China. Prominent U.S. media outlets expressed that the call has humiliated Beijing due to a violation of the status quo. Wang Yi, the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China subsequently responded that this event is only a "small trick" played by Taipei and will not change the One China Policy. A spokesperson for the Presidential Office in Taipei expressed that the call will not change Cross-Strait relations or U.S.-Taiwan relations in any way. The Obama administration has also expressed that the U.S. will uphold the One China Policy. Trump later responded by saying that the U.S. does not have to be bound by the policy. Background In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon met with People's Republic of China (PRC) Mao Zedong and the two parties agreed on the "One-China" principle (i.e. the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same state).In 1978 President Jimmy Carter's administration formally cut ties with the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, establishing relations with the PRC. Since the severing of diplomatic relations, the Presidents of the United States and the Republic of China have never formally met or made calls in line with the policy. After Tsai Ing-wen's victory in Taiwan's presidential election in 2016. Analysts predicted that Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party would install a largely pro-American government, in contrast to that of former President Ma Ying-jeou's Kuomintang, which called for close co-operation with Beijing. Call Aftermath
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