China has warned that any interference with or damage to the “One China” principle would have a serious impact on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, Taiwan said maintaining peace was in everyone’s interest.
On Sunday, US President-elect Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of China, further upsetting a nation already angered by his earlier phone conversation with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen.
An Fengshan, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular news conference 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.”
China has repeatedly warned that hard-won peace and stability across the Strait could be affected by any moves toward “independence.”
An said the Chinese mainland would contact or interact with Taiwan only if the island accepts the 1992 Consensus endorsing the “One China” principle. As long as both parties agree on its “core meaning,” cross-Strait exchanges will continue.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said peaceful relations were a mutual responsibility across both sides of the Strait.
