Participants at the joint Taiwan-USA meeting on cybersecurity in Taipei in November 9, 2021
Beijing asks Washington to immediately stop all forms of official interactions with Taiwan
Beijing/Taiwan: Amidst daily violation of Taiwanese air space since October 16, 2021 by Chinese air force jets, every time forcing Taipei to issue radio warnings, alert its airforce and deploy its air defense missile systems to monitor the Chinese aggressive activity, China yesterday conducted a “combat readiness patrol” of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft in the Taiwan Straits, that coincided with the arrival of several members of the US Congress in Taipei on a military plane.
When asked about the PLA aircraft patrol in a press conference here today, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin parried the question stating that “I would refer you to competent authorities”. At the same time, hitting out at the visiting US Congressmen to Taiwan, China claimed their visit “gravely violates the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-US joint communiques”.
Opposing their visit, Beijing has lodged “solemn representation” with the US side. “We ask the US side to immediately stop all forms of official interactions with Taiwan and avoid sending wrong signals to the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces, lest it should seriously undermine China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Wenbin said, asserting that Taiwan is an “inalienable part” of China’s territory.
The timing of the visit of the US Congressmen is significant as US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold a virtual summit next week although no date has been set yet. Wenbin said since the beginning of this year, President Xi Jinping spoke with President Biden over the phone upon invitation twice. The two heads of state agreed to maintain frequent contact through multiple means. “At present, China and the US are in close communication over the specific arrangement for the leaders’ summit,” he informed.
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Yet, undaunted by the Chinese warnings, Taiwan staged a workshop on defending democracy through media literacy, attended by the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Slovakia under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework November 9 to 10, 2021 from Taipei City.
Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, American Institute in Taiwan, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, British Office Taipei and Slovak Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, the virtual was the third of its kind under the multilateral platform.
Yesterday, Taiwan and the United States had join hands on forging cybersecurity defense strategy. Moreover, only last month, on October 24, Taiwan’s ministry of foreign affairs had issued a statement expressing Taipei’s gratitude to the US for discussing strategies and approaches for enhancing its international participation.
Wenbin today urged the relevant US lawmakers to get a “clear understanding of the situation”, and warned: “it is a dangerous game to collude with “Taiwan independence” forces, and joining the “Taiwan independence” forces in playing with fire will only get oneself burnt. All adventurist and provocative moves to confront the trend of China’s reunification is like an ant trying to topple a giant tree and will end up in failure.”
China of late has been aggressively maintaining that the one-China principle is an unshakable norm governing international relations. “China’s reunification is an unstoppable trend of history. On both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the 1.4 billion Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, share the overwhelming aspiration for national reunification. The clumsy show of a handful of “Taiwan independence” elements and foreign politicians cannot change the unbreakable landscape where 180 countries in the world are committed to the one-China principle,” Wenbin stated.
– global bihari bureau
