China again warns Taiwan against harboring any aspirations of secession from the mainland, including by teaming up with “external forces.”
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, addressing Chinese Taipei's President Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party.
“We warn the DPP authorities in Taiwan that colluding with external forces to seek secession and make provocations will only speed up its own perish and push Taiwan into an abyss of catastrophes,” he added.
China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province that should be reunited with the motherland under the internationally-recognized “one-China” policy.
Under the policy, nearly all countries recognize Beijing’s sovereignty over the island, including the United States, which has no formal diplomatic ties with the territory.
However, in violation of its own stated policy and in an attempt to irritate Beijing, Washington continues to court the secessionist government in Taipei, supporting its anti-China stance and supplying it with massive caches of armaments.
Inflaming tensions between the US and China, 82-year-old US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped in Taiwan on August 2, prompting Beijing to react to the highest-level US visit to Taiwan in 25 years with a burst of military activity in the island’s surrounding waters.
On August 3, Pelosi, who is third in the line of succession to the United States presidency and a long-time critic of China, concluded her brief visit to Taiwan, despite repeated warnings by Beijing over the past month against such a provocative trip.
Adding to his remarks, the Chinese spokesman said, “It's the common will of all Chinese people to realize complete reunification of the motherland, and this is the unstoppable general trend of history.” “We are ready to create broad space for peaceful reunification, but we'd never leave any room for separatist activities in any form seeking to secede Taiwan from China.”