The White House has denied the claims.
The image differentiating Taiwan and China—that could have been viewed as being at odds with Washington’s “one-China” policy—allegedly flustered White House officials.
After a minute the video vision of the presentation was cut and only audio was heard. An onscreen disclaimer later declared opinions expressed by individuals do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. government.
The incident drew fire from several U.S. Republican politicians.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) called it a “reprehensible” decision that requires “an immediate public apology.”
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) both weighed in on the matter.
Some said the move to cut the video feed was an over-reaction with a source telling Reuters that the White House National Security Council (NSC) angrily contacted the State Department, concerned that the video appeared to show Taiwan as a distinct country.
Despite China’s claims over Taiwan, the island has its own democratically-elected government, military, and constitution.
The map filled the territory of Taiwan with green, indicating an “open” civil society, in contrast to mainland China and Hong Kong, which were classified as “closed” and colored red, as were Laos, Vietnam, and North Korea.
Tang said during the panel discussion that Taiwan has been rated as “completely open” for three consecutive years.
“We are the only Asian country with that distinction and the solo Asian green light,” Tang said.
A spokesman at the White House NSC has denied the allegation.
“At no time did the White House direct that Minister Tang’s video feed be cut,” the spokesman told Reuters in an email.
The State Department said “confusion” over screen-sharing resulted in Tang’s video feed being dropped, calling it “an honest mistake.”
“We valued Minister Tang’s participation, which showcased Taiwan’s world-class expertise on issues of transparent governance, human rights, and countering disinformation,” a spokesperson said.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said “technical problems” caused the video not to be seen and later said Tang’s presentation had been provided in advance and not shown at the last minute.
“Taiwan and the United States have fully communicated on this technical issue, and the two sides have a solid mutual trust and a solid and friendly relationship,” the ministry said.
Washington has long held a “one-China policy,” which asserts that there is only one sovereign state with the name “China,” but avoids taking a position as to whether Taiwan is part of China. Meanwhile, it maintains an unofficial relationship with Taiwan, including continued arms sales to support its self-defense.
According to the participation list released on Nov. 23 by the State Department, China was not among the invitees to the U.S.-led summit, along with Burma (also known as Myanmar), Russia, and Vietnam.
A spokesperson for the State Department told The Epoch Times in a previous email that Taiwan’s inclusion at the summit is consistent with the United States’ “one-China” policy.
The video issue comes amid a highly sensitive time for Sino-U.S. relations.
