Politics

China warns Taiwan independence supporters ‘playing with fire’

Beijing, Mar 7 (EFE).- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Thursday that supporting “Taiwan independence” was akin to challenging Beijing’s sovereignty because the island “is part of China.”

“Those who support Taiwan’s independence will get burned for playing with fire,” Wang told reporters on the margins of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress.

“The principle of ‘one China’ is the general consensus of the international community, and supporting Tawain’s independence cannot be tolerated because that challenges China’s sovereignty,” Wang said.

The top diplomat reiterated that China will not allow Taiwan to separate, emphasizing that the elections on the island held recently were “local elections…in a part of China.”

“The outcome of these elections does not in the least change the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China, nor does it alter the historical trend of Taiwan’s return,” he said.

The minister highlighted the support of more than 180 countries and international organizations for the one-China principle.

Wang warned that “separatist activities” in favor of Taiwan’s independence are “the most destructive elements for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” and those indulging in such actions on the island would be held accountable.

“We will continue to strive for peace and reunification with the utmost sincerity. However, we make it clear that we will never allow Taiwan to separate,” he said.

The minister called on all Chinese descendants to support peaceful reunification and oppose the island’s independence, highlighting the historical ties between the inhabitants on both sides of the strait.

On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China “will resolutely oppose” “any separatist activity as well as “interference by external forces” on the island.

China considers the self-ruled island part of its territory, asserting that it reserves the right to use force to reunify Taiwan, even as a peaceful merger would be its first choice.

The island was the refuge of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) forces after losing the civil war with the Communists, who, since then, have claimed sovereignty over the territory. EFE

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