As thousands of Chinese missiles stay pointed toward Taiwan, the Communist nation’s patience with what it calls its breakaway province continues to be tested.
Today, a senior Taiwanese official announced President Tsai Ing-wen and a 90-strong delegation plan to land on U.S. soil to meet members of Congress. Beijing believes Taiwan is nothing more than a renegade province ultimately under its control, and the U.S. supports its so called “One China Policy.”
Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said such a move would “send wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces.” The Communist country began beefing up its military presence around the international airspace above Taiwan, after United States President-elect Donald Trump said the U.S. can change course on the One China Policy. The U.S. does not share formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It doesn’t even officially host Taiwanese leaders.
Now, officials in Beijing and D.C. are speculating whether the Taiwanese president would cross paths with Trump and members of his emerging administration– an unprecedented move that will undoubtedly infuriate China and put it on guard.
“Going forward, China-US relations will face new complexities and uncertain factors … Only if China and the US respect each and consider [the] other’s core interests and key concerns can there be long-term, stable cooperation,” said Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, in a People’s Daily interview.
China, which has long been suspicious of Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party, believes that the president will use her time in the U.S. to rally diplomatic and political opposition to the Communist regime in Beijing.
Tsai called for unity during a closed meeting with the DPP. “At a time of change, national solidarity across party lines is increasingly needed to fight against foreign forces,” a party spokesman, Yang Chia-liang, quoted Tsai as saying. “China has never stopped suppressing Taiwan’s international participation and diplomatic efforts.”
While speaking at a national defense committee, Javier Hou, deputy foreign minister, said Tsai’s planned trip to the U.S. would be made in accordance with past practice.
