China urges US to stop using Taiwan as tool to contain China

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday urged the United States to earnestly abide by its commitments of not using Taiwan as a tool to contain China, and stop hollowing out the one-China principle.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query about US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's "congratulations" to Taiwan region's new leader.

What the United States has done seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and breaches its political commitment to maintaining only cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the Taiwan region. This sends a seriously wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. China deplores and opposes it, and has made serious representations to the United States, Wang said.

There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests and is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations, he stressed.

"China firmly opposes official interaction in any form between Taiwan and the United States and opposes US interference in Taiwan affairs in any form or under any pretext," the spokesperson said.

China urges the United States to correct its wrongdoing at once, act on President Joe Biden's commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence," "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" and not using Taiwan as a tool to contain China, stop fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, stop emboldening and supporting "Taiwan independence" separatist forces in any form and stop disrupting peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Wang said.

"Taiwan independence" leads nowhere and anyone who connives at and supports "Taiwan independence" is doomed to failure. No external interference can hold back the trend toward China's reunification. Any attempt to challenge the one-China principle and endanger China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity will be met with China's resolute response, he added.

Recently, Taiwan's "foreign affairs department" issued a statement, protesting the mainland's condemnation over the Taiwan authorities' bribery of Guatemalan leaders and officials in exchange for political support.

In response to a related query, Wang said the facts and evidence on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' "dollar diplomacy" with Guatemala are clear and solid.

Guatemala's former president openly admitted that he had received bribery from the Taiwan authorities in exchange for maintaining so-called "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan, he said, adding that last year, Taiwan's hospital project in Guatemala was involved in a corruption case. Relevant Guatemalan officials were put into jail.

"This is just one example of the Taiwan authorities' 'dollar diplomacy.' No matter how angrily they protest or try to deny it, the fact that they sought political support through 'dollar diplomacy' will not change," Wang noted.

Around the world, 183 countries have established diplomatic ties with China. That proves the DPP authorities' reckless pursuit of "Taiwan independence" and secession to be futile and self-deceptive. Whatever the DPP authorities do, it will not shake the one-China principle, and will not hinder the unstoppable trend toward China's reunification, Wang said.

"We hope that Guatemala and the very few other countries will come to recognize where the trend leads and make the right decision soon," he added.

Mainland says Lai takes more radical "Taiwan independence" stance

Lai Ching-te has taken a more radical stance seeking "Taiwan independence" in his speech upon assuming the role of Taiwan region's new leader, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Tuesday.

Full of hostility and provocation and made up of lies and deception, Lai's Monday speech is a confession of "Taiwan independence," said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, in response to a media query for further comments on Lai's speech.

The speech fully demonstrated that Lai is "a traitor to mainstream public opinion on the island and a disruptor of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Chen said.

It is clear that from the very beginning of his tenure, Lai cannot help but to expose his true colors as an advocate for "Taiwan independence" with an extremely arrogant attitude and more radical views, he said.

Not only did he fail to address the fundamental question of the nature of cross-Strait relations, but he also attempted to change the nature of the relations, which poses a serious challenge to the one-China principle, he said.

Chen reminded Lai of the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and its future can only be determined by more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, including compatriots in Taiwan.

In his speech, Lai has turned to external forces for support of his independence agenda. However, no matter how much he fawns on external forces and seeks their support, he will always be a "pawn," Chen noted, adding that the "pawn" will inevitably become a discarded piece because "Taiwan independence" is a dead end and the attempts to seek independence by inviting in external forces will only backfire.

"Compatriots on both sides of the Strait are Chinese and belong to the Chinese nation. No one desires more than we do to achieve national reunification through peaceful means," Chen said.

"However, in response to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' collusion with external forces to provoke and seek independence, we must counteract and punish them," he added.

Lai's attempts to incite "anti-China" sentiments and pursue "independence" by force will only push Taiwan into a dangerous situation of military conflict, Chen said.

In his speech, Lai talked superficially about "dialogue" and "exchanges," misleading people to believe that he has good intentions and sincerity to improve cross-Strait relations, Chen noted.

"However, the inability of mainland residents and students to travel to Taiwan for tourism or study is entirely caused by the DPP authorities," he said, adding that Lai showed no genuine intent to promote cross-Strait exchanges or improve the island's economy.

No matter what Lai says or how he says it, it cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China, nor can it alter the common desire of compatriots on both sides of the Strait to become closer and more connected. It also cannot stop the irreversible trend of China's reunification, Chen said.