China on Thursday called on the United States not to interfere in Taiwan's presidential election, saying it was “firmly opposed” to relations between Taipei and Washington, which had announced it would send a delegation to the island after the election.
The United States must not “interfere in any form in the elections in the Taiwan region in order to avoid serious damage to Sino-American relations,” Mao Ning, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said at a regular news conference.
“China firmly rejects any form of official exchange between the United States and Taiwan,” she stressed. There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.”
The United States, whose relations with China remain tense, will send “an informal delegation” to Taiwan after the presidential election scheduled for Saturday, a senior American official announced on Wednesday.
The latter, who wished to remain anonymous, also warned Beijing against any “provocative” action after this crucial election. Comments were condemned by Beijing on Thursday.
“China expresses its deep dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the United States' premature comments on the elections in the Taiwan region,” Mao Ning said.
“The Taiwan issue is at the heart of China's fundamental interests and represents the first insurmountable red line in Sino-US relations,” she continued.
China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces that has not yet succeeded in reunification with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
She says she supports a “peaceful” reunification with the island, where the roughly 23 million residents are governed by a democratic system. However, it has never renounced the use of military force.
China is critical of the increasing contacts between American and Taiwanese politicians in recent years and sees this as a violation of the United States' commitment not to maintain official relations with the island.