Washington has provoked an escalation between China and Taiwan. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of China’s State Council, said this on Wednesday, August 3, in reference to the unannounced visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
“This once again proves that some US politicians are pests to Sino-US relations and the US has become the main destroyer of peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and regional stability,” the minister stressed.
He also criticised Taiwan’s inclusion in US regional politics and added that Beijing would firmly crack down on encouraging the island’s independence in any form or by any side.
Wang Yi said the region’s accession could be seen as a “historical inevitability” that would signal the rebirth of the Chinese nation.
On the same day, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Office of Taiwan Affairs under the Chinese State Council, announced the imposition of sanctions against two Taiwanese foundations for denigrating China and supporting separatism.
The day before, it was reported that China had banned the sale of food products from more than 100 brands from Taiwan in order to increase economic pressure on the island ahead of a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
At the same time, Fu Tsung, head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s disarmament department, said Beijing did not rule out the possible use of force to reunite with Taiwan. He clarified, however, that it is not a question of using nuclear capabilities.
According to Fu Tsung, the issue of countermeasures against the US is still under discussion. Nevertheless, it is certain that Washington’s provocative actions will not go unnoticed by the Chinese authorities.
A day earlier the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned US Ambassador Nicholas Burns. He was protested over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which the PRC considers its integral part.
Pelosi’s visit was the first official visit to Taiwan by a US House speaker in 25 years. The politician arrived on the island on August 2. Upon her arrival, she officially called her visit to Taiwan “a testament to the US commitment to supporting Taiwanese democracy.”
China’s Foreign Ministry, for its part, strongly protested Pelosi’s visit to the island. The ministry once again called on the U.S. to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and pander to pro-independence forces in Taiwan.
The U.S. believes China should behave responsibly and not create tension in the wake of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. A day earlier, John Kirby, the White House National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, said Pelosi’s trip did not change anything about the “one China” policy that the US has been pursuing.
Official relations between the Chinese government and its island province broke down in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek-led Kuomintang forces, who lost the civil war against the Communist Party of China, relocated to Taiwan. Contacts between the island and mainland China resumed in the late 1980s. The US openly supports the Taiwanese authorities.