China’s foreign minister demanded on Tuesday that the United States stop interfering in the Taiwan issue, adding that Beijing retains the “option to act” if the island declares independence.
“We reserve the ability to act if there is any circumstance that violates the law of the People’s Republic of China against separatism,” Qin Gang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, the highest legislative body from China.
“The determination of the Chinese people to defend sovereignty cannot be underestimated,” he stressed. “That’s a red line that can’t be crossed.”
China’s ruler said the US “should stop interfering in China’s internal affairs”. “Why don’t you respect China’s sovereignty on the Taiwan issue, but demand that we show respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty?” “Why do they send weapons to Taiwan and ask us not to send weapons to Russia?”
“If the US wants peace, it should stop using Taiwan to contain China and reject and prevent Taiwan’s independence,” he said.
When answering a question about Taiwan, Qin opened up a copy of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, citing the island’s “sacred territory”.
“Separatism in Taiwan is not compatible with peace. The threat is secessionism. And if the United States does not change its attitude, ties with China could be seriously damaged,” he said.
“It’s China’s business, period. It’s not something other countries should take into account. Some US officials say otherwise, we reject that and we’re watching,” he added.
At the opening of the plenary session of the National People’s Congress on Sunday, outgoing Prime Minister Li Keqiang pledged that China will “fight resolutely” against Taiwan’s “independence” and “for the sake of the reunification of the motherland”.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory, not a sovereign political entity, and has threatened to use force to take control of the island. The area is also a source of tension between Beijing and Washington, Taipei’s main ally and arms supplier.
Last August, former US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei sparked strong protests from the Chinese government, which viewed the trip as a provocation and launched military exercises around the island on an unprecedented scale.
Taiwan, a destination for farmers and fishermen from China’s Fujian and Guangdong provinces, has been under Dutch, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese rule over the centuries. At the end of World War II, the area became part of the Republic of China, under the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek.
After the defeat by the Communist Party, in the Chinese Civil War, in 1949, the Nationalist government took refuge on the island, which until this Tuesday maintains the official name of the Republic of China, as opposed to the People’s Republic of China. , in mainland China.
For Beijing, Taiwan is an obstacle to the projection of its power in the Asia-Pacific region, due to its geostrategic location between the South China Sea and the East China Sea, at the center of the so-called “first chain of islands”. . The reunification of the area has become a key goal in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s “Rejuvenation of the Great Chinese Nation” project.
For the United States, the “fall” of Taiwan would undermine the credibility of its system of alliances in Asia-Pacific, which would mean the end of US geostrategic dominance in the region.
Source: DN
