China to respond aggressively as Taiwan VP William Lai stops in the US.
China has threatened a stern response against Taiwan as Vice President William Lai stopped in New York on his way to Paraguay on Sunday, with Washington stating it is also closely following the developing situation.
Lai is running for president of Taiwan in the next elections. He is currently in New York on his way to and from Paraguay, where he will attend President-elect Santiago Pena’s inauguration.
China believes Taiwan to be part of its territory and has plans to integrate it with the mainland one day while increasing political pressure on it.
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Chinese foreign ministry said in an online statement: “China is closely following the development of the situation and will take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Lai has been more outspoken about independence than Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
The Harvard-educated doctor-turned-politician has previously described himself as a “pragmatic Taiwan independence worker”, and reiterated this week when speaking with a local television channel that Taiwan was “not part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)”.
“The Republic of China and PRC are not subordinate to each other,” he said, using Taiwan’s official name.
On landing in New York Sunday, Lai said on Twitter, now X: “Happy to arrive at the Big Apple, icon of liberty, democracy, and opportunities,” adding that he was “greeted at the airport by representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan, the United States’s de facto embassy for the island.”
“Looking forward to seeing friends and attending transit programs in New York,” he wrote.
As China will respond aggressively as Taiwan VP William Lai stops in US, Lai is anticipated to continue to Paraguay before returning to San Francisco.
In the week preceding Lai’s departure, Chinese military incursions into Taiwan’s waters and airspace, which had been occurring almost daily in the previous year, were larger than usual.
According to the defence ministry, 33 Chinese aeroplanes and six warships were observed surrounding the island in a 24-hour period.
“China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between the US and Taiwan, is resolutely opposed to separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ entering the US under any name and for any reason, and firmly opposed to any form of official contact between the US government and the Taiwanese side,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said.
“China expresses strong dissatisfaction with and strongly condemns the US insistence on arranging William Lai’s ‘transit’ to the US,” the spokesperson added, labeling Lai a “downright troublemaker”.
