Biden affirms Taiwan stance - Taliban prisoner swap - Book bans escalate

Biden said “yes” when asked during an interview on CBS News’s “60 Minutes” program whether “U.S. forces, U.S. men and women, would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.” The White House said after the interview U.S. policy hasn’t changed. That policy says Washington wants to see Taiwan’s status resolved peacefully but doesn’t say whether U.S. forces might be sent in response to a Chinese attack.
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Washington is obligated by federal law to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself. The U.S. has no formal relations with the island but maintains informal diplomatic ties. Washington says it doesn’t support formal independence for Taiwan, a stance Biden repeated in the interview. In May, Biden [made similar comments about defending Taiwan].
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[A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry] said the remarks violate Washington’s commitment not to support formal independence for Taiwan, a step Beijing has said would lead to war. [She] called on Washington to “not to send any wrong signals” to supporters of Taiwan independence.