China slams Tsai meeting with US Senator Ted Cruz
Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing. He urged the US to abide by the One China policy and “prudently handle” Taiwan-related issues.
Beijing was “fully prepared” to break ties with the US should Trump abandon the policy, said the Global Times, which often takes a nationalistic tone.
“If Trump reneges on the One China policy after taking office, the Chinese people will demand the government to take revenge. There is no room for bargaining,” it said in a Sunday editorial.
Cruz, who lost to Trump in the Republican primary elections, said he had gone ahead with the tete-a-tete despite Chinese opposition. He said the Houston congressional delegation had received a “curious letter” from the Chinese consulate requesting that no one meet her. In his letter, Chinese Consul General Li Qiangmin of Houston called the “Taiwan issue” the most sensitive one in China-US relations.
“The People’s Republic of China needs to understand that in America we make decisions about meeting with visitors for ourselves,” the Republican said. “The Chinese do not give us veto power over those with whom they meet. We will continue to meet with anyone, including the Taiwanese, as we see fit.”
Trump has already irked China by accepting a congratulatory phone call from Tsai after he won the presidential election, upending decades of diplomatic precedent in which the White House has foregone direct communication with the leader of Taiwan.
Beijing considers the island to be a breakaway province to be brought back within its fold, by force if necessary.
Trump has threatened to get tough with what he sees as unfair Chinese trade practises, and suggested that the One China policy could become a bargaining chip in other disputes. But he appears to have ruled out meeting Tsai during her stopover.
“Nobody’s ever mentioned that to me,” Trump told reporters on New Year’s Eve, when asked about Tsai’s trip, according to the AP. “I’m not meeting with anybody until after January 20, because it’s a little bit inappropriate from a protocol standpoint. But we’ll see.”
The US maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan until 1979, when it opened formal diplomatic relations with China. One major stipulation for doing so was a US acknowledgment of China’s position that “there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China”, and therefore breaking off its official ties with Taiwan, as it could recognise only a single government of “one China”.