About seven hours ago Taipei Times posted this article:
Tsai-Trump telephone call scheduled
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was to have a telephone conversation with US president-elect Donald Trump yesterday, which would be the first time a Taiwanese president has spoken with a US president-elect since official diplomatic ties between the two nations were severed in 1979….
Trump reportedly agreed to the call, which was arranged by his Taiwan-friendly campaign staff after his aides briefed him on issues regarding Taiwan and the situation in the Taiwan Strait, sources said….
In related news, Stephen Yates, who was deputy security advisor to former US vice president Dick Cheney, is in Taiwan.
He is scheduled to meet with Tsai, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) before returning to the US tomorrow….
Washington sources said that Yates is to be appointed to a position in the White House after Trump’s inauguration.
Then around an hour ago the world reacted in shock:
Trump Speaks With Taiwan’s Leader, a Likely Affront to China
President-elect Donald J. Trump spoke by telephone with Taiwan’s president on Friday, a striking break with nearly four decades of diplomatic practice that could precipitate a major rift with China even before Mr. Trump takes office.
Mr. Trump’s office said he spoke with the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, “who offered her congratulations.”
He is believed to be the first president or president-elect who has spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, when the United States severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan after its recognition of the People’s Republic of China.
In the statement, Mr. Trump’s office said the two leaders noted that “close economic, political, and security ties” exist between Taiwan and the United States. The statement also said Mr. Trump “congratulated President Tsai on becoming president of Taiwan earlier this year.”
Trump speaks with Taiwanese president, a major break with decades of U.S. policy on China
President-elect Donald Trump spoke Friday with Taiwan’s president, a major departure from decades of U.S. policy in Asia and a breach of diplomatic protocol with ramifications for the incoming president’s relations with China.
Trump spoke by phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said. The conversation was first reported by the Financial Times and the Taipei Times.
The call is the first known contact between a U.S. president or president-elect with a Taiwanese leader since the United States broke diplomatic relations with the island in 1979. China considers Taiwan a province, and news of the official outreach by Trump is likely to infuriate the regional military and economic power.
The Washington Post even referenced the Taipei Times article so it seems like an accurate report. With time zones, Taiwan is about 13 hours or a full day ahead of us, so “yesterday” means today.
UPDATE: So now Trump is tweeting about it too. Diplomacy in 140 characters or less.
Meanwhile the Chinese are responding as well:
China's state-run CCTV quickly issued a statement saying Trump made "an unprecedented break with the One-China Policy and accepted US-Mainland protocol."
"There is no immediate reaction from the Chinese government to this call," the statement continued. "The Mainland says it firmly opposes official contact in any form between Washington and Taipei."
It gets better or worse as the case may be:
The Agence France Presse quoted an unidentified member of the Trump transition team as saying that Trump and Tsai discussed the possibility of closer cooperation on issues related to economy, politics and security.
There were no immediate comments from Taiwan's presidential office.
The press release from the Trump transition team, which was also sent to reporters by e-mail, was missing from the transition website as of 17:45 EST, with the web page showing a message that said "file not found."
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory and has vigorously obstructed any official contacts between Taiwan and other nations. Taiwan currently is recognized by only about two dozen countries, mainly in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
LATEST: China is downplaying the incident even if they might know more than this.
China's foreign minister says he hopes Beijing's relations with the U.S. won't be "interfered with or damaged" after President-elect Donald Trump broke with decades long diplomatic tradition and spoke directly with Taiwan's leader.
Hong Kong's Phoenix TV reports that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday the call between Taiwan's president and Trump was "just a small trick by Taiwan." He said he thought it would not change longstanding U.S. policy toward China.
Wang says the so-called "one-China policy" is the cornerstone of U.S.-China relations and that Beijing hoped that foundation would not be "interfered with or damaged."
It is highly unusual, probably unprecedented, for a U.S. president or president-elect to speak directly with a leader of Taiwan, a self-governing island the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with in 1979.