Taiwan’s President Lai says he would be happy to speak with Donald Trump
Key takeaways
- US and Taiwan presidents have not spoken since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
- Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would speak to Lai, as the White House weighed a massive arms package sale to the democratic island.
- US and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
US and Taiwan presidents have not spoken since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo President Lai said that Taiwan was 'committed to maintaining the stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait' and would be 'happy to discuss these matters with President Trump' [File: Taiwan Presidential Office via AP]By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and Reuters Published On 21 May 202621 May 2026Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te has said he would be “happy” to talk to United States President Donald Trump – a conversation that would break more than four decades of diplomatic protocol and risk angering China.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would speak to Lai, as the White House weighed a massive arms package sale to the democratic island. It was the second time since a summit in Beijing last week that Trump has said he would call the Taiwanese leader.