China yesterday rejected US President Donald Trump’s accusations that Beijing is trying to interfere with US congressional elections, a move that further raises tensions as the world’s biggest economies fight a trade war.
“We urge the US to stop smearing and accusing China,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said at a regular briefing in Beijing. “China has all along followed the principle of non-interference and refuses to accept any groundless accusations.”
Trump on Wednesday said that Beijing was meddling in November’s midterms because it opposes his tough trade policies, and said in response to a question that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) might not be friends anymore as a result.
Photo: AFP
“They do not want me or us to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade,” Trump said as he chaired the UN Security Council for the first time.
Asked later what evidence he had, Trump said there was “plenty,” but did not immediately provide details, suggesting that some of the material was classified.
Instead, Trump zeroed in on China’s propaganda efforts to flood the heartland with advertisements and statements against his billions of dollars in punishing tariffs.
Trump’s comments came three days after China placed an advertising supplement in Iowa’s largest newspaper attacking his trade policies.
“I don’t like it when they attack our farmers and I don’t like it when they put out false messages. But beside that, we learned that they are trying to meddle in our elections and we’re not going to let that happen just as we’re not going to let that happen with Russia,” he said.
A senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters about Trump’s comments said that China was stepping up covert and overt activities to punish those who support Trump’s tough trade stance and interfere in the political system.
The only specifics given by the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were that China is hurting farmers and workers in states and districts that voted for Trump.
China stifles free speech on US campuses and punishes or rewards businesses, think tanks, movie studios and political candidates for criticizing or supporting Chinese politics, the official said.
More information would be declassified in coming days and that US Vice President Mike Pence was expected to speak on the issue next week, he said.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) shrugged when he heard Trump’s statement via translation at the Security Council.
“We do not and will not interfere in any countries’ domestic affairs,” he later said. “We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China, and we call on other countries to also observe the purposes of the UN charter and not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.”
The ad had been in accordance with US law that allows the cooperation of foreign and US media, Geng told the briefing in Beijing.
He said that categorizing the action as Chinese interference in the US election was “far-fetched and false.”
With the elections less than two months away, US intelligence and election-protection officials have not cited any specific, credible Chinese efforts.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from