Taiwan’s President Ready for Historic Talks With Trump

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has said he would welcome direct talks with US President Donald Trump, after Trump publicly stated for a second time this week that he was prepared to speak with Taiwan’s leader amid discussions over a major new American arms package for the island. A direct conversation between the two presidents would mark a major break with diplomatic practice that has remained in place since 1979, when Washington formally switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing under the “One China” policy. Since then, no sitting US president and Taiwanese president have held direct official talks. ...