PRC warns over ‘one China’ principle

Reuters, BEIJING and TAIPEI

China yesterday warned that any interference with or damage to the “one China” principle would have a serious impact on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, as Taiwan said maintaining peace was in everyone’s interest.

US president-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said that the US did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of “one China,” further upsetting China, which was already angered by Trump’s earlier telephone call with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

The issue is highly sensitive for China and Beijing has expressed “serious concern” about Trump’s remarks.

An Fengshan (安峰山), a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regularly scheduled news conference in Beijing that the Taiwan issue was about China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Upholding the ‘one China’ principle is the political basis of developing China-US relations, and is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.

“If this basis is interfered with or damaged, then the healthy, stable development of China-US relations is out of the question, and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait will be seriously impacted,” An said.

In Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council said peaceful relations were a mutual responsibility across both sides of the Strait.

“Taiwan has repeatedly stressed that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and throughout the region is in the best interests of all parties,” council spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. “Taiwan places equal weight on the development of Taiwan-US relations and cross-strait relations.”

China has repeatedly warned that hard-won peace and stability across the Strait that could be affected by any moves toward independence.

“I think the facts tell these people that Taiwan independence is a dead end,” An said.

A senior US defense official on Tuesday said that Taiwan’s defense spending had not kept pace with the threat posed by China and should be increased.

Taiwan’s annual defense spending has not hit 3 percent of GDP in recent years, which some military and political experts in Taiwan and elsewhere have said should be the minimum level.

“Taiwan’s defense spending factors in external threats and the nation’s annual budget,” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said.

“Our premier has said previously that the Cabinet can look to use a special budget to meet defense needs in an emergency situation,” he said.

In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said the US needed to handle the Taiwan issue cautiously to avoid ties with China receiving unnecessary interference.

“As for the so-called issue of Taiwan being threatened, I think we’ve said many times that we oppose the US and Taiwan having any form of official contacts or military relations,” Geng told a daily news briefing.