There is no ceasefire in the Strait. On the day of the electoral catastrophe in Taiwan, the first diplomatic sparks were already flying between the United States and China, the two superpowers whose interests clash in this area. The presidential election won on Saturday by Lai Ching-te, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the least popular option in Beijing, demonstrated a commitment to continuity on this self-governing island, which China considers an inalienable part of its territory and has its main ally in the United States.
Following Lai's victory, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement on Saturday congratulating the winner and expressing the White House's willingness to work with him and the rest of Taiwan's parties to “advance our shared interests and values.” “our long-standing unofficial relationship” but respects the “One China Policy”. “We trust that Taiwan will continue to be an example for all who fight for freedom, democracy and prosperity,” he said. When asked about the results, US President Joe Biden briefly added: “We do not support independence…”.
This Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted angrily, asserting that it “deeply” regrets the message of the North American foreign minister, which “seriously violates the one-China principle” and “sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces.” the independence of Taiwan. In the note, the State Department states that it has conveyed “serious allegations” to the US side.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned this Sunday that any initiative in favor of Taiwan's independence will be “severely punished” because it “attempts to divide China,” as he explained at a press appearance in Cairo, where you are now. “No matter what the election results are, it cannot change the fundamental fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China,” he added.
The tension began, as expected, on Saturday evening, when a spokesman for the Chinese government's Taiwan Affairs Office issued an initial statement saying that the results show that the DPP “cannot represent the majority public opinion on the island” and asserted , that the elections “will not prevent the inevitable trend toward China’s reunification.”
Taipei, which has also joined the dance of crossed messages, demanded this Sunday from Beijing “respect” for the election results. “China must face reality and abandon its efforts to put pressure on Taiwan,” the Foreign Ministry said, the official CNA agency reported.
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Meanwhile, this Sunday, the United States sent a presidential delegation made up of former high-ranking officials on a “private” trip to the island, according to a statement from the American Institute in Taiwan, the US representative office in the territory. The delegation plans to meet with “prominent political figures” on Monday, something it had done in previous elections.
Taiwan has received congratulations from many countries in the international community, from Japan to the United Kingdom, including the European Union. But it is the American statement that has raised Beijing's ire.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry asserts that the American Secretary of State's message violates the “One China Principle and the Three Joint Communiques of China and the United States”, the delicate and very complex diplomatic architecture that resolves the Taiwan obstacle and the relations between The rules Washington and Beijing were rebooted in the 1970s.
The congratulations sent by Blinken “contradict the United States' own political commitment to maintain only cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with the Taiwanese people,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry added. And he reiterates that the Taiwan issue “is at the heart of China's fundamental interests and represents the first red line that should not be crossed in relations between the two countries.” Beijing demands that Washington not use the island as a tool to “contain China” and calls on it to “end official interactions” with the island. At the recent meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in San Francisco, he assured that Taiwan remained “the most important and sensitive issue.”
President-elect Lai Ching-te, who will take office on May 20, has assured that in this area he will follow the path set by the current president and party colleague Tsai Ing-wen, after overcoming the legal limit Stepping down from power, two terms in office were marked by a lack of communication with China, growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and rapprochement with Washington.
“As president, I have an important responsibility for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Lai said in his first media appearance on Saturday. He stated that he would try to seek dialogue with China under conditions of “equality and dignity,” but also gave signals that he would deepen the deterrence strategy against the People's Republic initiated by the current president. “We are committed to protecting Taiwan from China’s ongoing threats and intimidation,” he said. “Between democracy and authoritarianism, we will be on the side of democracy.”
Lai's victory makes the DPP the first party to win a third consecutive term since the first democratic elections in 1996. Her victory raises China's hopes of an eventual rapprochement modeled on the rapprochement forged during Ma's presidency. Ying-jeou (2008 -2016). His party, the nationalist Kuomintang, again came second in the presidential election, although it overtook the PDP in the parliamentary election.
China, which views the island as a rebellious province that it wants to peacefully reunify without resorting to the use of force if necessary, has suggested that Lai is hiding a secessionist tendency that is “harming” the people of Taiwan and peace in Taiwan “endangered”. Street. “In order to get more votes, Lai is trying to hide the fact that, as a proponent of Taiwan independence, he is essentially a troublemaker and war instigator,” Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said in November. Taiwan from the Chinese government, according to the state press of the People's Republic.
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