The Chinese government on Wednesday declared zero tolerance for ‘separatist activities’ in Taiwan while also reaffirming that it would take the self-ruled island by force if necessary.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, issued the warning following days of unprecedented military exercises surrounding the island that was provoked by a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi meanwhile reiterated her support for the trip, saying she was “extremely proud” of her group and that she thought China had exploited it as a ‘pretext” to begin military drills.
‘We will not allow China to isolate Taiwan,’ Pelosi told reporters in Washington.Pelosi last week became the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in decades despite stark threats from China, which tries to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage.
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China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday issued a white paper laying out how it intends to claim the island through a range of economic incentives and military pressure.
“We are ready to create vast space for peaceful reunification, but we will leave no room for separatist activities in any form,” said the paper.
China will ‘not renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures’.
It added, however: ‘We will only be forced to take drastic measures to respond to the provocation of separatist elements or external forces should they ever cross our red lines.’
Africa Daily News, New York recalls that China last issued a white paper on Taiwan in 2000.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the island’s top policymaking body on China, rejected the paper and said the document ‘is full of… lies’.
‘Taiwan maintains that ‘neither side belongs to the other’, and firmly refuses ‘one country, two systems’ — this is the current status of the Taiwan Strait and the reality,’ it said in a statement.
‘One country, two systems’ refers to the model under which Hong Kong and Macau were promised a degree of autonomy under Chinese rule. It has been proposed by Beijing as a solution for Taiwan.
The release of the white paper came on the same day that a top Taiwan opposition politician flew to China for meetings with Taiwanese businesspeople, prompting condemnation from Taipei which had called on him to cancel the trip.
Meanwhile, since the late 1990s, the island has transformed from an autocracy into a vibrant democracy, and a distinct Taiwanese identity has emerged.
Relations between the two sides have significantly worsened since Tsai became president in 2016.
Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party do not consider Taiwan to be part of China.
Their platform falls under China’s broad definition of Taiwanese separatism, which includes those who advocate for the island to have an identity separate from the mainland.
