BEIJING: China will no longer arrange a meeting between Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers on the sidelines of ASEAN events in Cambodia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying confirmed at a press briefing on Thursday.
The Chinese side is strongly displeased with the joint statement put out by G7 nations, including Japan, about the Taiwan region, said Hua.
The so-called statement claimed China’s “escalatory response” to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the Taiwan region risks increasing tensions across the Taiwan Strait while calling on China not to “unilaterally change the status quo by force” in the region.
Japan bears a historical responsibility regarding the Taiwan question, Hua said, adding that the Japanese side is not at all qualified to make irresponsible remarks about the Taiwan question.
The Chinese Embassy in Japan on Thursday also voiced strong condemnation and a firm rejection of the so-called joint statement, saying it sends the wrong signal, seriously interferes in China’s internal affairs and violates international justice and common sense.
In a statement, the embassy urged Japan to fully recognize the highly harmful nature of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and take practical action to reflect on the commitments made in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and other documents.
The Japanese side should refrain from blindly following the U.S., stop making wrong remarks regarding the Taiwan question and stop sending wrong signals to the “Taiwan independence” secessionist forces in whatever form, the embassy stressed.
There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, and the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affairs, which is the exact status quo across the Taiwan Strait, the statement said.
The Taiwan Strait is facing severe challenges, and the fundamental cause is the repeated moves by the U.S. and the Taiwan authorities to change the status quo, the statement added.
The embassy also noted that the U.S.’s acts have actually escalated the tension across the Taiwan Strait and directly changed the status quo as the U.S. played the “Taiwan card,” launched political provocations against China first, and distorted obscured and hollowed out the one-China principle.
Such acts will eventually bring harm to oneself, the Chinese Embassy said, adding that “there will be consequences.”
–The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
