China warns Taiwan’s leader against seeking independence

BEIJING, Friday

China has warned Taiwan’s leader Tsai Ing-wen against seeking independence, saying peace would be impossible if the new government attempted to move away from the mainland.

“If independence is pursued, it will be impossible to have peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits,” the Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement hours after Tsai was sworn in.

Tsai is the head of the Democratic Progressive Party, which has in the past advocated for Taiwan to separate from the mainland, a goal that Beijing has rejected.

China and Taiwan split in 1949 after the Kuomintang nationalist forces lost a civil war to Communists. But Beijing has always seen the island as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

NO NAMING

The statement referred to Tsai as the new leader of the Taiwan administration, without naming her.

Her campaign emphasised the island’s unique identity, and in her speech, she promised to raise its profile in the international community.

That idea has met with stiff resistance from Beijing, which has spent immense political and financial capital opposing such efforts, whittling away the number of countries that recognise Taipei diplomatically.

Addressing the issue, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said while Beijing had no objection to “unofficial trade relations”, it was opposed to other countries signing official agreements with Taiwan.

China’s state-run media were almost mute about the inauguration itself, with no coverage on national television or in major newspapers such as the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece.