Mainland envoy’s Taiwan ‘unifying’ statement to become official warning: experts

The remarks of a senior Chinese diplomat on “unifying” Taiwan island by force is expected to be an official warning from the mainland, experts said Sunday, suggesting that the island’s media, who appear in shock, should study China’s Anti-Secession Law.

“The day that a US Navy vessel arrives in Kaohsiung is the day that our People’s Liberation Army unifies Taiwan with military force,” Li Kexin, the minister at China’s Embassy in the US, was quoted as saying at a Friday embassy event in the US, Associated Press reported.

Li said he had asked US congressmen whether they are going to send military vessels to Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Taipei Times reported.

“If you send military vessels over there, [you] will activate the Anti-Secession Law [of China],” Li said.

The law stipulates that mainland could take non-peaceful manners to safeguard national sovereignty when the island is, or at the risk of being separated.

The remarks have sparked wide attention in the island after local media reported in an exaggerated and panicked tone.

Taiwan’s “foreign ministry” and Mainland Affairs Council protested the remarks, and issued a statement highlighting the island’s capability and determination to “defend itself,” Taipei Times reported.

The public remarks of such a high-ranking diplomat are not a personal opinion but a reaffirmation on mainland’s policy toward the island, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University’s Institute of International Relations, told the Global Times on Sunday.

“The remarks show the strong determination of the mainland, and the People’s Liberation Army is always ready to defend national unity,” Peng Guangqian, a major general and strategist at the Academy of Military Sciences, told the Global Times.