Politics

Beijing admonishes US ambassador, warns Pelosi ‘playing with fire’ in Taiwan

Beijing, Aug 3 (EFE).- China’s foreign ministry summoned the United States ambassador to the country to lodge “stern representations and strong protests” over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, state-run news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday.

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summoned Nicholas Burns late on Tuesday night and told him “Pelosi risks universal condemnation to deliberately provoke and play with fire,” Xinhua said.

Xie described the visit as a serious violation of the “one-China” principle and said that it “has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” adding that it “gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the agency reported.

“The move is extremely egregious in nature and the consequences are extremely serious. China will not sit idly by,” Xie added, stressing that the US must be held accountable for having said one thing and doing another with regard to the “one-China” principle.

In this regard, he noted actions taken by Washington such as the inclusion of Taiwan in its “Indo-Pacific strategy,” the removal of the phrase “Taiwan is part of China” from the US State Department’s website and an increase in arms sales to the island.

The senior official warned that the US will “pay the price for its own mistakes” and urged the country to rectify its “wrongdoings” and take practical measures to reverse “the adverse effects” caused by Pelosi’s visit before the situation in the Taiwan Strait and China-US bilateral relations are “irreparable,” Xinhua said.

Xie also urged Washington to stop using Taiwan to “contain China” and to stop interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs.

“Taiwan is China’s Taiwan, and Taiwan will eventually return to the embrace of the motherland. Chinese people are not afraid of ghosts, pressure and the evil,” Xie said.

Pelosi landed in Taipei on Tuesday night in an unannounced trip that has outraged the Chinese government, which is responding with a military deployment in the Taiwan Strait and trade sanctions on the island.

The politician visited the Taiwanese parliament on Wednesday morning and later met the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who conferred her with an award for her “support” to Taiwan.

Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and would be its greatest military ally in the event of a possible war with China, which considers the island a rebel province and has not ruled out use of force to achieve “reunification.” EFE

lcl/pd/tw

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