China’s foreign minister Qin Gang on Friday warned of “dangerous” consequences if countries intervened in Taiwan, asserting both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the mainland and that Beijing has the right to uphold its sovereignty.
“Those who play with fire on Taiwan will eventually get themselves burned,” Qin said at the Lanting Forum in Shanghai where he spoke on a wide range of topics including modernisation and safeguarding the international order.
Qin’s warning on Taiwan comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Sino-US tension on the self-ruled island, and the recent remarks by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol who told Reuters in an interview that the Taiwan issue is not “…simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue.”
Beijing claims the democratically-ruled island as a breakaway region to be merged with the mainland by force if necessary.
The Tsai Ing-wen government in Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claims, saying it is the Taiwanese people who will decide their future.
“Recently, there has been some absurd rhetoric accusing China of challenging the so-called rules-based international order, of unilaterally changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait through force or coercion, and of disrupting peace and stability across the Strait,” Qin said at the forum in Shanghai.
“Such claims go against basic common sense on international relations and historical justice. The logic is absurd, and the consequences dangerous,” he added.
Asserting China’s rights to “uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity,”, Qin said: “We would like to make it clear to those who seek to sabotage international justice in the name of international order: The Taiwan question is the core of the core interests of China…”
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched intense drills around the island, deploying warships and fighter jets to encircle it as it put on an aggressive show of military might in response to Taiwanese President Tsai’s US stopover and meeting with House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, earlier this month.
On Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry rejected South Korean President Yoon’s statement, calling on Seoul to act with caution over its stand on Taiwan.
Qin also spoke at length on China’s “modernisation”, saying that over the past four decades, the Chinese government has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty, and enlarged the middle-income group to over 400 million people.
He said China is the main trading partner of over 140 countries and regions at present, and makes US$320 million direct investment around the world each day while attracting over 3,000 foreign businesses every month.
“Over the past decade, China has contributed more to global growth than all the G7 countries combined,” Qin said.
