The US Department of State has called on Beijing to act with restraint and not use Taiwan’s transition of government as a pretext for provocative or coercive actions following the inauguration of President William Lai (賴清德).
In an e-mailed statement, a department spokesperson welcomed the comments by Lai in his inaugural address in Taipei on Monday, noting his commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and to maintaining the “status quo.”
The inauguration was part of a normal, routine democratic process and if Beijing escalates tensions or pressures Taiwan as a result, it should be seen as the provocateur, the statement said.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
US policy toward Taiwan has not changed, opposing unilateral changes to the “status quo” by either side in line with its long-standing commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, it said.
The US also does not support Taiwanese independence, but encourages cross-strait dialogue and expects that differences would be resolved peacefully and in a manner acceptable to people on both sides of, it said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said that the speech delivered by “the leader of the Taiwan region,” had “stubbornly insisted on the position of Taiwanese independence,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Chen, who did not mention Lai by name, said that the speech contained “separatist fallacies” and attempted to “incite division” among people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
China also criticized US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for extending his congratulations to Lai and separately sanctioned former US representative Mike Gallagher for his support of Taipei.
Blinken on Monday congratulated Lai shortly after the inauguration ceremony.
The US looks forward to working with Lai and others in Taiwan “to advance our shared interests and values,” Blinken said.
“It’s a serious violation of the political commitment made by the US to maintain only cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with the Taiwan region,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said yesterday.
The remarks by the US’ top diplomat sent “a seriously wrong signal to the Taiwan separatist forces,” Wang said, adding that Beijing had filed a diplomatic complaint with Washington, and called on “the US to immediately correct their mistakes.”
In Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council called on Beijing to be receptive to an overture expressed by Lai on Monday.
In a news release on Monday, the council said that Lai had extended “the greatest goodwill gesture” in the address by calling for engagements between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait for mutual benefit and joint prosperity.
The council urged China to respond to that overture positively and hence meet the expectations of the people on both sides of the Strait and the international community.
It would closely monitor the situation across the Taiwan Strait and promote, with prudence, cross-strait exchanges in accordance with the Constitution, the council said.
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