Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang. (Mainichi)

       WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The video feed of a Taiwanese minister was cut during last week's U.S.-led summit to promote democracy, as the White House was apparently concerned that her slide presentation showing Taiwan in a different color from China could spark controversy, Reuters reported.

       A panel discussion involving Taiwan's digital minister Audrey Tang was one of the highlights of the virtual summit, which U.S. President Joe Biden convened for two days through Friday as part of ongoing efforts to advance democracy in the face of challenges posed by authoritarianism.

       The State Department told Reuters that "confusion" over screen-sharing resulted in Tang's video feed being dropped, calling it "an honest mistake."

       Tang initially showed up when delivering her remarks along with some slides, which included a map of Asia with countries differentiated based on the level of civic freedoms according to a South Africa-based human rights organization.

       Taiwan, labeled as the only fully "open" territory on the map, appeared in green, while China, North Korea and others labeled as "closed" were shown in red.

       The map was aired for about one minute.

       Tang had a chance to speak later, but only with audio as the screen showed the words "Minister Audrey Tang Taiwan."

       The White House was concerned that differentiating Taiwan and China on a map in a U.S.-hosted conference to which Taiwan had been invited could be considered at odds with Washington's "One China" policy, which avoids taking a position as to whether Taiwan is part of China, Reuters reported.

       An official video of the event uploaded to YouTube has a disclaimer saying any opinions expressed are those of the individual or group, and "do not necessarily reflect the view" of the U.S. government.

       Reuters cited anonymous sources as saying the move during the panel discussion on the theme of "countering digital authoritarianism" was at odds with the summit's mission of bolstering democracy in the face of challenges from China and others.

       The sources also reportedly said it could signal that the Biden administration's support for Taiwan was not as "rock solid" as it has repeatedly stated.

       China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 amid a civil war. Beijing has since endeavored to diplomatically isolate Taiwan, which it regards as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland by force if necessary.

       After switching its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, Washington has committed to policy of acknowledging Beijing as the "sole legal government of China" while allowing unofficial ties with Taiwan and assistance to the island toward maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability.

       U.S. government guidelines as of 2020 said that Taiwan should be depicted in the same color as China on maps referring to sovereignty, although exceptions can be made "when context requires that Taiwan be specifically singled out."

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