Former Ambassador: Why Fix 'One China' Policy Now?

The "One China" policy, which means no official relations with Taiwan, has worked for the past 38 years, former Ambassador Christopher Hill said Monday, and he is not quite sure why President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming administration feel the need to change it.

"I understand things happen," Hill commented during a panel discussion on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "This was what he felt was a courtesy call. I get that. What I worry about is some sort of doubling down and deciding somehow we've got to make some big-time change in a policy that has served our interest very well for almost 40 years."

Two days after accepting a congratulatory call from Taiwan President Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to reject the criticism of the call, and to tell his Twitter followers he will not allow China to tell him who to speak with, while airing his grievances about China's activities.

But the One China plan means no courtesy calls, Hill said Monday.

"At the same time we've had something called a Taiwan Relations Act, which kind of lays out what precisely the relationship with Taiwan is, including armed sales," Hill said. "Frankly, when you look around the world at all of the mess going on whether in Syria, North Korea, one thing that isn't broke that is the way in which we deal with China and Taiwan. So, you know, the adage of it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Trump might want to change the policy, Hill said, but he should not do that over the phone.

"He ought to consult with Congress and have some studies, and he might want to talk to someone in the State Department now and again about this," Hill said. "We need the Chinese for North Korea and need them to back off the South China Sea and be helpful on a lot of issues."

However, he continued, the question is whether to threaten to rip up agreements that have been in place for years over those issues.

"I guess my point is I would like to see a little more thoughtfulness on this and a little more consultation," Hill said. "We are not one-man rule in this country."

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