Chancellor Wang Yi said again that he sees the movement as an attempt to divide Chinese territory
China's Foreign Ministry issued a strong statement following elections that elected nationalist candidate Lai Chingte as Taiwan's new president on Saturday (January 13, 2024).
Speaking to journalists, Foreign Minister Wang Yi vehemently denied the possibility of the island's independence. He said anyone found guilty of this would be “severely punished”.
“If anyone on the island of Taiwan thinks about seeking independence, they will try to separate the territory from China and will certainly be severely punished by both history and the law,” said Wang, who is in Cairo, Egypt. stops. The information comes from AFP.
The Chancellor reiterated that mainland China rejects the concept of a nationstate for the island, which Beijing has viewed as a “rebel province” since the end of the Chinese Civil War (19271949). “Taiwan was never a country. That has not been the case in the past and certainly will not be the case in the future,” he said.
In a document released this Sunday (January 14), the Chinese Foreign Ministry also sent a message to the United States after the US State Department congratulated Lai Chingte and said it wanted to strengthen ties with the new government.
“The US State Department's statement on the elections in China's Taiwan region seriously violates the 'One China' principle […] “The Taiwan issue is at the heart of China's fundamental interests and is the first red line that must not be crossed,” the Chinese ministry said. Read the full note (PDF 151 kB, in English).
Also on Saturday (January 13), US President Joe Biden stated that the country does not support Taiwan's independence. The National Security Council took the same position: “We oppose unilateral changes to the status quo by either side.” […] We take no position on the final settlement of differences as long as they are resolved peacefully,” the council said.
ELECTIONS IN TAIWAN
DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) nationalist candidate Lai Chingte was elected president of Taiwan on Saturday (January 13). When all 17,795 voting booths were counted, the politician had 40.05% of valid votes (5,586,019 votes), according to the Election Commission.
Hou Yuih, Lai's main opponent and a member of the KMT (Kuomintang) party, has 33.49% (4,671,021). Ko Wenje from the TPP (Taiwan People's Party) has 26.46% (3,690,466 votes). Both acknowledged their election defeat.
The DPP, in power since 2016, defends the region's autonomy from China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory in the form of a dissident province. The party also reiterates the island's need to strengthen ties with the United States and Japan.