China angered over Taiwan president’s scheduled stopover in U.S.

A scheduled stopover visit to the U.S. state of Hawaii for Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has prompted an angry response from China, whose officials are now urging the Biden administration to not allow Lai to land on U.S. soil.

According to TaiwanPlus News, Lai begins his first official trip as president on November 30th, and will be travelling around the Pacific, transiting in Hawaii and possibly the U.S. territory of Guam. Lai, who has been labelled a “separatist” by China, will be visiting the island nations of Tuvalu, Palau, and the Marshall Islands – three of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies.

China is accusing Lai of seeking independence for Taiwan by bolstering its diplomatic ties with the U.S. and other allies, something China says violates its one-China principle. China urged the White House to reconsider allowing Lai to land on U.S. soil, and to “stop enabling” Taiwan’s “separatist” forces.

Taiwan, officially called the Republic of China, is a self-ruling democratic island settled by Nationalist forces in 1949 after they fled the mainland after they were defeated by the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong.

China claims ownership of Taiwan in its entirety, rejecting its independence, despite evidence the island’s human habitation dates back tens of thousands of years, predating the arrival of the Chinese.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said during a news conference China rejects any narrative that implies Taiwan is a separate entity from China, and accused Lai of relying on outside nations to gain support for Taiwan’s independence

“This so-called ‘transit’ by the leader of the Taiwan authorities is essentially seeking independence by relying on [forces from] the outside,” Chen said, “Any attempt to create a ‘one China, one Taiwan’ and ‘two Chinas’ [narrative] along with other provocative acts that violate the one-China policy principle, will certainly be opposed by China.”

Chen noted that allowing Lai to land in Hawaii would send “the wrong signals” to forces that support Taiwan’s independence.

“We urge the United States side to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three joint communiques of China and the United States, and to stop sending the wrong signals to the forces for ‘Taiwan independence,'” Chen said.

According to the Strait Times, China could carry out military drills near Taiwan shortly after Lai wraps up his trip around the Pacific.

#BREAKING | UPDATE
CHINA IS PREPARING FOR MORE MILITARY DRILLS WAR GAMES IN THE NEXT
UPCOMING DAYS PRACTICE FOR THE INVASION OF TAIWAN.

THEY HELD SIMILAR DRILLS A COUPLE MONTHS AGO SURROUNDING TAIWAN FOR POTENTIAL
INVASION pic.twitter.com/dkcLk2a97E

— Todd Paron (@tparon) November 27, 2024